When you hear the phrase, “mountain men,” you probably think of someone like Daniel Boone or Davy Crockett tromping through the woods clad in buckskin, crowned with a coonskin cap, and toting a black powder rifle.  You probably don’t think of the biblical character Moses.  However, Moses was quite a mountain man.

There was the Mountain of Revelation, otherwise known as Mount Sinai, where God revealed Himself to Moses and delivered the Law containing the Ten Commandments.  The lesson learned on this mountain is that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Deut. 8:3). 

Later on came the Mountain of Intercession.  It was upon this nameless mountain Moses stood with arms raised interceding for the army of Israel as they battled the forces of Amalek.  As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed.  The lesson learned on this mountain is that the Church prevails by prayer. 

The last mountain in Moses’ life may surprise you.  It’s the Mountain of Disappointment.  In Deuteronomy 34 Moses climbed to the top of Mount Pisgah where God showed him the land promised to Israel.  Moses was forbidden to enter because of his disobedience concerning the water of Meribah (Numbers 20:1-13).  Moses saw the land in the distance, but died having never stepped foot in the Promised Land.

I wonder how many hopes have died on some mountain of disappointment. 

Amazingly, Moses’ story doesn’t end there.  About 1,500 years later we find Jesus Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration located in the Promised Land (Matthew 17:1-1-3).  Joining Him there on the mountain were Elijah and…….you guessed it, Moses!  He made it!  Not only did Moses make it, but he had the privilege of standing on the mountain with the Son of God.

Maybe you find yourself on some mountain of disappointment today.  Be encouraged.  The story of your life is still being written.  Stay faithful.  For as Moses learned, God’s disappointments in the end will prove to be a greater blessing.

Pastor Todd Weston

It happened in July, 2005.  I was driving my son’s late model Toyota Corolla from the airport in Kansas City to our home in Manhattan, Kansas.  For months I had ignored the illuminated “check oil” gauge as I drove the two-hundred mile round trip from our house to the airport.  I kept thinking I would get around to it. Unfortunately, I never got around to it.

I will tell you that it’s quite an experience having your car engine blow into hundreds of little pieces while driving 75 mph down the highway!  It all happened so fast – a loud bang, black smoke, and the sound of metal (lots of metal) hitting the pavement.

Grace is like the oil that lubricates the working parts of your engine.  Without the lubricating oil of grace things lock up, then heat up, and finally blow up! 

The same thing happens in our relationships at home or at church.  When grace is abundant we get along.  The little things don’t upset us.  We turn the other cheek.  We gladly go the second mile.  Forgiveness flows and love abounds when there’s grace.  But when grace is absent in a home or church, watch out!  Friction builds.  Tempers flare.  Attitudes go bad.  Hurtful words are spoken and damage is done.

Have you ever noticed how many of Paul’s letters to the churches open and close with the statement, “Grace be unto you,” or something like that?  Paul understood the necessity of grace in a church.  With all of the different working parts that go into a church, with all of the different people, personalities, ideas, and opinions, the only way it can happen is by the lubricating grace of God. 

So may God make all grace abound toward you (2 Corinthians 9:8).  And may God make all grace abound toward River of Life.  Let the lubricating oil of the Holy Spirit be at work in all of our relationships.

Pastor Todd Weston

We live in an ever-changing world.  In many ways, the world in which we live is not the same world we lived in just a few years ago.  Leaders move on and off the world scene.  Fads come and go.  Today’s headlines become history as breaking news captures our attention.

People change, too.  Over the years, I have watched some life-long friends experience a complete transfiguration from the person they were to the person they now are.  For some, the change was for the better.  For others, it was for the worse.

In the midst of all the change, there is one constant.  There is one irrevocable, indisputable truth upon which you can always depend.  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). 

Jesus is immutable in His Person.  All that He ever was He is today.  And all that He is today He will be forever.  Consider this statement from Malachi 3:6, “For I am the LORD, I change not.”  That tells us Christ’s attributes are permanent.  He is never more or less loving, or holy, or omnipotent, or faithful.  He is always the same to perfection.

Christ’s teachings are immutable also.  Unlike the vacillating “truths” of the world, biblical truth is constant and absolute.  Jesus said so in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”

And, thank God, His power is immutable.  His ability to save, heal, comfort, deliver, provide, or do anything else that is necessary is the same today as it was two-thousand years ago.

Best of all, He who was everything in the yesterday of the past and will be everything in the tomorrow of the future is ours today and forever!

“Yesterday, today, forever,

Jesus is the same,

All may change, but Jesus never!

Glory to His name.”

 

Pastor Todd Weston

It’s almost here!  Election Day is less than a month away.  Are you ready to be done with the political ads?  While all national elections are important, I cannot remember one that carried such a sense of urgency and consequence as the one that will be held on November 6th.

As you prepare for the upcoming election, ask yourself, “How would Jesus vote?”  For example:

·         Would the Lord of Life who formed us in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13-16) oppose or support abortion?

·         Would the Founder and Head of the Church (Ephesians 5:23) vote to restrict religious freedom, or force religious institutions to act contrary to their convictions? 

·         Would the Creator of the family (Genesis 1:27-28) oppose or support legislation that redefines the biblical definition while embracing aberrant lifestyles?

·         Would the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 3:6) be a friend and staunch ally of Israel and publicly recognize Jerusalem as her capital?

There are several important issues involved in this upcoming election.  Think about them.  Pray about them.  Search the Scriptures diligently for wisdom and understanding.  Let your biblical convictions and the thought of what Jesus would do guide you.  Then go to your polling station and make your vote count. 

Pastor Todd Weston