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Cast Your Cares

4/24/2017

The cares of life. Everyone has them. The question is what to do with them. 1 Peter 5:7 provides the answer, “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

The Greek word translated “casting” is also used in Luke 19:35 where we read, “And they THREW their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.” The term translated “casting” in 1 Peter 5:7, and “threw” in Luke 19:35 means, to throw upon.

Put the passages together and we understand that the Bible instructs us to do something intentional and complete. Jesus doesn’t take our cares from us anymore than He took the garments from the disciples. As they cast their clothes on the colt, we cast our cares on Jesus. Furthermore, we are invited to cast all of them, not just some. The tense of the verb used in 1 Peter 5:7 means to cast the whole burden of care in a one-time act and never take it back.

Now look at the word “care.” It translates a Greek word that carries the idea of pulling something in two different directions. The word “distraction” expresses the thought. That is what happens when we try to carry the cares of life ourselves. We become distracted by them. We struggle to focus. We become double-minded, fluctuating between faith and fear. Our minds are continually drawn away into places they should not go.

It’s amazing how heavy the cares of life can become. Without help from heaven, they can literally crush the life out of you. As Jesus explained in the Parable of the Sower and the Seed, they can even derail a person’s faith if not handled properly (Matthew 13:22).

To handle them properly we must do as Peter said, “Casting all your care upon Him.” God is the only One who can carry our care without being crushed by it. So cast all your burdens upon Him because, “He cares for you.” Here are three observations --

   1. God’s care is personal — “HE cares for you.” God doesn’t delegate the care of His children to anyone else. He personally cares for you.

   2.   God’s care is practical — “He CARES for you.” The word “cares” here is different from the “care” used earlier. The first “care” has the idea of being distracted by burdens and anxieties. The second has the idea of personal interest and concern. God is there to help us in our times of need.

   3.   God’s care is individual — “He cares for YOU.” God doesn’t care for everyone else in the world except you. God cares very much for you!

It’s interesting that the command to cast all our care comes in-between two other key commands: humble yourselves (v6) and, resist the devil (v8). Casting your cares on the Lord requires humility. It admits the truth of the song that says, ”We are weak, but He is strong.” It is also one of the ways we resist the devil who seeks to use the burdens of life to distract and even defeat us.

So how do we go about casting our care upon the Lord? Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.”

When it comes to the cares of life, don’t carry them. Cast them.

Pastor Todd Weston

Fruit, More Fruit, Much Fruit

4/17/2017

Before reading this article, please pick up your Bible and read John 15:1-5. Got it? Ok. There is a divine order presented in these verses. Did you see it? It begins in v2a with “fruit.” It continues in v2b with “more fruit.” It culminates in v5 with “much fruit.”

According to Jesus, the divine order of the Christian life is fruit, more fruit, much fruit. Rather than a diminishing pattern, it is an ever increasing one. It is God’s will that the farther we go in our Christian experience, the more fruitful our lives should become.

Last month, I celebrated my 56th birthday in Jerusalem. It was a birthday unlike any other. I did a lot of reflecting that day as I walked the streets of Jerusalem. Twenty years ago I was a young pastor with fourteen years of full-time ministry experience under my belt. Twenty years from now I will most likely have reached the end of my pastoral ministry.

The older I get the more I value time, and the more I seek to redeem it. In the words of Robert Frost, ”I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.” So I am committed to a life of ever-increasing fruitfulness.

It is God’s will that every believer bears fruit, more fruit, and much fruit. Remember Jesus and the barren fig tree? He inspected the tree because He expected fruit. The longer we serve the Lord, the more productive our lives should be. Not less fruit. More fruit.

Of course, there are those believers who have opted for a life of spiritual barrenness. They consume, but contribute little if anything to the kingdom of God. They are still on the team, but no longer in the game. Sadly, they fail to see what they are missing!

How encouraging it is to see Christians of all ages who understand this concept of fruitfulness and live highly productive lives for the Lord. They use their time, talents, and resources to make an impact on eternity, all the while laying up treasure in heaven. Life becomes an adventure following the Lord into new territories of service. What a way to live!

Life is serious business, and there are no redo’s. Do not waste your years investing in that which profits nothing. Give yourself to the things that matter most. Invest in the eternal. This much I know. No matter what others do, I will strive to live a spiritually productive life that bears fruit, more fruit, and much fruit.

Join me in setting this spiritual goal: that the older we get, the more fruitful our lives will become for the glory of God.

Pastor Todd Weston

Hineni

4/10/2017

While in Israel last month I was introduced to a Hebrew word that sums up three English words. The Hebrew word is Hineni (pronounced hee-nay-nee). It means, “Here I am.” It’s a statement that emphasizes readiness to hear and act, attentiveness and engagement. The word is more than the answer to a roll call, “Here!” It goes beyond that to say, “At your service!”

The phrase “Here I am” appears several times in the Old Testament. The first appearance is in Genesis 22:1 when God called Abraham to do something very difficult. “Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.’” In response to the call, Abraham said, “Here I am.” Hineni!

We see the word again in Exodus 3:4 when God appeared to an eighty-year-old shepherd named Moses and called him to the greatest assignment of his life. In response to the call, Moses said “Here I am.” Hineni!

In 1 Samuel 3:3-4 God spoke to the young boy, Samuel. Samuel was destined to serve the nation of Israel in the multifaceted role of prophet, priest, judge, and intercessor. In response to the word of the Lord, the young Samuel said “Here I am.” Hineni!

And later, in Isaiah 6:8, the prophet Isaiah heard the Lord say, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Without hesitation, Isaiah cried out, “Here am I! Send me.” Hineni!

The first appearance of the word “hineni” should have been in Genesis 3 when God called to Adam saying, “Where are you?” Adam should have quickly responded, “Here I am.” Hineni! But in sin and disobedience, Adam remained silent. God’s call went unanswered.

But Jesus, the second Adam, responded differently to the call of God. When presented with the greatest task of all, the work of redemption, Jesus said, “Behold, I come…I delight to do Your will, O my God” (Psalm 40:7-8).

The call of God is constantly going out to us today. Like Abraham we are called to give. Like Moses we are called to go. Like Samuel we are called to serve. Like Isaiah we are called to speak. Don’t ignore God’s call like the first Adam. Don’t let His word to you go unanswered. In obedience, respond like the second Adam and say, “Here I am.” Hineni!

Pastor Todd Weston

Bitter Waters

4/3/2017

Shortly after their escape from Egyptian slavery through the Red Sea, the Children of Israel came to a place called Marah where the water was undrinkable. According to the biblical record found in Exodus 15:22, the people traveled in the wilderness for three days without finding water. When they finally came to a water supply, they discovered it wasn’t fit for human consumption.

While I have never been to the Sinai Peninsula where this Old Testament story occurred, I was in the Judean Wilderness by the Dead Sea just a few weeks ago. We were instructed by our tour guide to drink plenty of water because the threat of dehydration was high. While exploring the ruins of Masada, I ran out of water. It didn’t take long before I began to feel the effects. Fortunately, I found a fountain and was able to refill my water bottle with clean, cold H2O.

Imagine traveling by foot through the hot, dry wilderness. The water containers are empty. Your tongue is cleaving to the roof of your mouth. Your children are begging for something to drink. Dehydration is setting in and you must find water fast. And then in the distance you see a grove of Palm trees; a sign that water must be near. But when you come to the pool you find it contaminated, toxic, undrinkable.

It was Solomon who wrote, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12). Life has its share of bitter disappointments. Exodus 15 is a picture of that, and shows how quickly life can turn. At the beginning of the chapter the people are rejoicing by the waters of the Red Sea. By the end they are distressed at the waters of Marah.

Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there. Moses cried out to God on behalf of the people, and the Lord showed him a tree. When Moses cast the tree into the waters they were miraculously healed, and the crisis was averted.

The tree that healed the waters reminds us of the cross of Jesus Christ. Without Christ in your heart, the bitter experiences of life have no positive meaning or resolution. But when Jesus enters your life, He brings hope and healing. In the words of J. Vernon McGee, “It is the cross of Christ that makes the Marah experiences of life sweet.”

The next time you find yourself at some disappointing Marah experience, kneel at the foot of the cross and look into the face of the One who was wounded for your transgressions, bruised for you iniquities, chastised for your peace, and afflicted for your healing. Look to the One who not only died there for you, but rose again triumphantly! Turn your eyes upon Jesus. He alone can make the bitter waters better.

Pastor Todd Weston

RLA Pastor's blog

Cast Your Cares

Fruit, More Fruit, Much Fruit

Hineni

Bitter Waters

Pastor Todd

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