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RLA Pastor's blog

Backsliding

4/30/2018

 
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Hate is a strong word.  It’s a word that may make us uncomfortable as believers.  We’re not supposed to hate.  We’re supposed to love.  But did you know that “hate” is a Bible word?  David used it in Psalm 101:3, “I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.”​

Can you identify with David?  Do you hate witnessing the slow erosion of someone’s faith?  Does it bother you when worldliness overtakes a once godly life?  Does it grieve your soul to watch zeal and love for God fade into oblivion?   

The signs of backsliding are obvious.  You know someone is in the process of backsliding when:

  • the earthly starts taking priority over the eternal
  • selfish desires begin to supplant spiritual disciplines
  • personal comfort and convenience cancel out commitment
  • participation in the things of God dwindles because spiritual passion is gone
  • hardness sets in because love for God has gone into a serious state of decline
Nothing breaks the heart of a pastor more than witnessing the painful process of backsliding in a person’s life.  It’s like watching someone you love die a slow death from cancer of the soul.  When the process is complete, the person you once knew is gone.

With all my heart I agree with David, “I hate the work of those who fall away.”  I hate it because of what it does to the person who backslides.  I hate it because of the collateral damage it brings.  It’s believed that when a ship sinks it creates a suction powerful enough to pull other things down with it.  Oftentimes, when a person backslides they don’t do it alone.  They pull others down with them — usually, those they love.  Not only that, they bring reproach on the cause of Christ.  When a believer turns away from the faith they once professed, they give hell reason to rejoice and mock.  No wonder David said, “I hate it!”

Notice what he said next, “It shall not cling to me.”  First, David vowed that he would not be pulled down by the faith-failure of others.  If any backsliding believer invites you to join them in their apostasy just tell them, “I love you, but not enough to go to hell with you.”  

Second, David determined he would not allow himself to become discouraged by the faith-failure of others.  He would not make the same mistake as Elijah in 1 Kings 19.  Surrounded by spiritual casualties on all sides, Elijah reached the wrong conclusion that he was the only true believer left in all Israel (1 Kings 19:10).  Actually, there was a faithful remnant seven-thousand strong (1 Kings 19:18).  Be assured, God always has a remnant!

David made another determination that helped him.  He said, “My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land” (Psalm 101:6).  Another translation reads, “I will search for faithful people to be my companions.”  Instead of looking at the spiritual wipe-outs, David focused on the spiritually strong.  Rather than being discouraged by the faithless, stay encouraged by the faithful.

The sad truth is that not everyone who starts the race will finish.  But you can!  Jude 20-21 gives a sure-fire antidote for backsliding, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”  

To prevent backsliding just keep building, loving, keeping, and looking.  In this way you will stay faithful to the faith, and will finish the race you started.

Pastor Todd Weston

Son Light

4/23/2018

 
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Erythema Solare.  That’s a phrase every Floridian should understand.  It’s what happens when you experience overexposure to the sun.  Yes, I’m talking about a good, old-fashioned sunburn.  Painful things sunburns are; somewhat of a nuisance, too!​

As a result of overexposure to UV radiation, I have become very well acquainted with my dermatologist.  I am currently undergoing a treatment for some pre-cancerous places on my lip.  The prescribed medication consists of a toxic blend of battery acid, hydrogen chloride, potassium cyanide, and some coarse sandpaper that could take the hyde off a Rhinoceros thrown in for good measure.  Ok, not really.  It just feels like it with every application.  The medicine is meant to kill something.  I just hope it knows when to stop!

Did you know that the Bible refers to Jesus as the Sun?  Malachi 4:2 says, “But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings.”  There are many comparisons to Jesus Christ the Son of God and this unique star called the Sun.  

Just as the Sun is the center point of our Solar System around which the planets move in their  God-ordained orbits, Jesus the Son is the supreme Being around which all of life revolves.  Just as there is only one Sun for our world, there is only one Son and Savior for all humanity, “the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).  Just as the Sun provides light and warmth, so Jesus the Son is the Light of the World.  And with every glorious sunrise we are reminded that Jesus the Son of God rose triumphant over death, hell, and the grave.

While doctors warn about the dangers of too much sun, we can never get too much of the Son!  I highly recommend intense amounts of Son light.  Rather than a harmful thing, getting more of Jesus is the best thing for you.   Exposure to Son light has a way of burning out the things that don’t belong in our lives.  The more time we spend in the radiant light of Jesus, the more like Him we become (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Many people move to Florida to live life in the sun.  That’s great, just take my advice and use plenty of sunscreen.  And while you’re at it, remember that there is no substitute for life in the Son.  Walk in His light every day, and may “The LORD make His face shine upon you” (Numbers 6:25).  

Pastor Todd Weston

Faith Promise Giving

4/16/2018

 
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A spiritual principle established in the Bible is that the work of God is financed by the people of God.  Be it the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, the Temple in Jerusalem, or the New Testament Church, in the economy of heaven God’s people support the work through their giving.​

Through the paying of tithes we support the work of the church at home.  Through missions giving we support the work of the church around the world.  While the tithe is a set percentage of income for everyone (tithe means one-tenth), missions giving is a free-will offering, the amount of which is determined prayerfully by the giver.

This Sunday, April 22nd, is designated as Faith Promise Sunday at RLA  This is the Sunday we come together to determine what we believe God will enable each of us to give to missions over the next twelve months.  The sum total of our individual Faith Promises gives us an idea of what we as a church can commit to the cause of world missions in the coming year.

Consider the phrase - Faith Promise Giving.  The element of “faith” indicates an amount that exceeds my ability to give.  Paul dealt with this concept in 2 Corinthians 8:3 when he spoke of the churches in Macedonia that gave “according to their ability” and “beyond their ability.”  The former statement refers to tithes and offerings that are based on known sources of income.  The latter refers to Faith Promise Giving which exceeds known sources of income, and looks to God in faith to supply and enable.  

The word “promise” declares this is a faith-covenant, or a faith-pact, between the giver and God.  It is a solemn commitment to follow through and do what was promised.  That means I faithfully give of the resources I control along with the resources of the world God controls and releases into my power to direct.

And the word “give” is the action part of the Faith Promise.  I can have faith to believe.  I can even make the promise.  As important as all of that is, it means nothing unless I actually give.  The power is in the act of doing.

Last year the RLA family gave over $124,000 to the cause of world missions (nearly 15% of our total income).  Of course, we would love to see that number increase significantly in 2018.  But my real goal this year involves not only income, but involvement.  My goal is that every member of the RLA family will make a Faith Promise and act on it immediately in giving to the missions program of the church.  

It’s when we act in obedience to the promise made that miracles occur and the provision of God   appears enabling us to give beyond our ability.  That is Faith Promise Giving!

Pastor Todd Weston

The Masters

4/9/2018

 
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(This article was written Tuesday, April 3rd, a day before our trip to the Masters.)  ​

I am writing yet another article at the Toyota dealership while my car is being serviced.  I scheduled the service for today because tomorrow morning dad and I hit the road.  For us it is the dream father/son trip.  Thanks to the kind generosity of a friend, we are bound for Augusta, Georgia to spend a day at the Masters.

For those of you who may not be familiar with the Masters, it is the first major tournament of the year on the professional golf tour.  Augusta National is an impeccably manicured course rich in golf history.  Not just any professional golfer can play in the Masters.  The championship consists of a select field of top golfers from around the world.  For enthusiasts of the game, the Masters is a little bit of golf heaven. 

I was seven-years-old when dad gave me my first set of clubs.  Fifty-years later dad and I have played countless rounds of golf together.  A lot of my memories with dad go back to times spent on the course.  The last time I was in my hometown of Springfield, Missouri, dad and I played the same course we would play when I was just a kid.  It isn’t the nicest course in town, but it takes me back to many special times.

For dad and I it’s golf.  For other fathers and sons or daughters it may be something else like fishing.  I saw a sign somewhere that read, “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after.”  In the finally analysis, it isn’t the sport, hobby, activity, or destination we hold dear.  It’s the time spent with family.

I encourage you to set aside time to spend with your loved ones.  For those with young children, do not follow the example of one father I knew who decided to wait until his children were older so they could have more intellectual conversations.  Bad decision.  Your family needs you at every stage of life.  Don’t wait.  Do it now.  

Because of some recent health issues, dad is not able to play golf at this time.  But we are already making plans for the future.  We will hit the course again.  

Well, the car is done.  Tomorrow dad and I are Augusta bound to make memories that will last a lifetime.  Carve some time out of your schedule this week to spend with someone you love.  The other stuff of life will wait.  Go make a memory.

Pastor Todd Weston 

Jonah and Missions

4/2/2018

 
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We are introduced to the biblical character Jonah in 2 Kings 14:25.  Jonah was the son of Amittai and was from the town of Gath-hepher in Zebulon, located in the hill country of Galilee.  The Pharisees were wrong in stating that no prophet ever came from Galilee (John 7:52).  How could they forget Jonah!?​

The prophet Elisha was Jonah’s predecessor, and it’s likely that Jonah had been a member of Elisha’s school of the prophets.  So why the interest in this OT prophet.  Because along with being the only person in the Bible to be swallowed by a large fish and live to tell about it, Jonah was the first missionary to be sent by God to a foreign nation.

Jonah was what we could call an isolationist.  He believed that salvation was for the Jews, and for the Jews only.  As such, Jonah was thrown into a theological conundrum and personal crisis when given this command from God, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me” (Jonah 1:2).

The Book of Jonah tells how he resisted the call of God, and how God turned him around by way of a large fish.  So Jonah went to Nineveh and did what the Lord commanded.  Jonah’s message is the shortest sermon recorded in the Bible, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”  That’s it.  Noah preached for one-hundred years and no one except his family responded.  Jonah preached a one-sentence message for forty days to Nineveh and everyone responded!

Jonah might be the only missionary in history who became angry because people responded to the message in repentance.  The end of the book closes with Jonah getting an attitude adjustment.  It also reveals the heart of God for lost people.

The Great Commission doesn’t start with us.  It doesn’t even start with the lost.  It starts with the heart of God that does not want anyone to perish, but all to repent (2 Peter 3:9).  Jonah might have thought, “If I don’t care, why should God?”  The truth is, “Because God cares, so should we.”

April is missions month at River of Life.  Having just celebrated the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, how appropriate that our focus now turns to the command given to the women at the empty tomb, “But go tell…” (Mark 16:7).  Our missions theme is Every Tribe, Every Nation.  

Just as the Lord’s mission is our mission (John 20:21), His passion should be our passion.  I pray that God will birth a passion in our hearts for reaching the lost — everyone (Rev. 7:9), everywhere (Romans 15:20), and every way (1 Cor. 9:22).

Pastor Todd Weston

    Pastor Todd

    Lead Pastor
    River of Life
    Assembly of God

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