The third chapter of Daniel tells the story of three Hebrew boys who refused to bow down to Nebuchadnezzer’s idolatrous image of gold.  The temptation to compromise was strong.  All who refused to do obeisance would be cast alive into a fiery furnace.  But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood straight and tall that day for the Lord.  They refused to bow.

Sadly, it doesn’t take the threat of a fiery furnace to get people to bow today.  No, all it takes is a little intimidation and convictions collapse like a washed out sandcastle on the beach.  We see it happen all the time.  Someone takes an initial stand for righteousness only to do a total reversal under the pressure of intimidation.  Worst of all, they end up apologizing for their convictions in the futile attempt to appease a world the Bible calls crooked and perverse (Philippians 2:15).  The world is corrupt.  Never attempt to negotiate with corruption. 

The society in which we live has transitioned from merely non-Christian to anti-Christian.  We need to wake up to the fact that this world which is at war with God will never approve of our biblical convictions.  Never!  As believers in Jesus Christ we live against the grain of society which causes a great deal of friction.  What the world calls “light” we call “darkness” and vice versa.  What the world calls “good” we call “evil” and vice versa.  

The result of all this is a growing hostility toward Christianity and Christians.  As Paul told Timothy, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).  

Standing in front of a fiery furnace, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego understood what Paul was talking about.  And yet, to their eternal credit, they didn’t bow.  They didn’t even bend.  Not even a little bit!

What the Church needs today are Christians who have the courage to stand by their convictions.  May we be followers of Jesus Christ who in the face of intimidation declare with these three Old Testament heroes – I’M NOT GONNA BOW!

Pastor Todd Weston

The place was Capernaum – a fishing village located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus was teaching in a house that may have belonged to Simon Peter.  Wherever Jesus went He attracted large crowds.  This time was no different.  The house was filled beyond capacity.  You couldn’t even get near the door.  Had there been a fire marshal in town, he certainly would have shut the meeting down. 

As Jesus continued to teach, four men stood outside the house formulating a plan.  Their paralyzed friend was on a stretcher.  Their dilemma was how to get their friend past the crowd to Jesus.  There seemed to be no way.  Then they hit upon an idea.

At first the crowd inside the house became aware of a strange sound coming from the roof.  Can you imagine their shock when all of a sudden debris and dirt started falling down on their heads?  In a few moments daylight broke through.  Then appeared the faces of the four men as they peered down through the sizeable hole they just dug in the roof.  I wonder if Jesus broke into a smile or maybe a silent chuckle as He considered the comical side of what was happening.

While Simon Peter was frantically looking for his homeowner’s insurance policy to see if it covered the damages, these four men lowered their friend on the stretcher directly in front of Jesus.  Seeing their faith, Jesus performed the double miracle of salvation and healing.  The paralytic who had to be lowered through the roof on a stretcher got up and walked out of the house completely healed!

Sue Anderson, who leads our prayer team ministry, made this great observation from this story:  Hope in and of itself would have stopped at the door. But real faith will dig a hole in the roof! The audacity of the faith of these four men captured the attention of Jesus!  The story teaches that Jesus is moved by faith that dares to believe and refuses to give up.

What miracle are you in need of today?  Don’t be discouraged by a few obstacles or setbacks.  Don’t give up because of the seemingly impossibility of the situation. Possess and practice audacious faith.  Dig a hole in the roof.  Believe and keep believing until the answer comes.

Pastor Todd Weston

Three times in the Christmas story you will read the phrase, “Do not be afraid.”  The first time it was spoken to Mary as the angel Gabriel explained her role in God’s redemptive plan (Luke 1:30).  The second time it was spoken to Joseph in a dream as the angel of the Lord instructed him to take Mary as his wife (Matthew 1:20).  And the third time it was spoken to the shepherds by the angel of the Lord who appeared to them announcing the birth of the Savior (Luke 2:10).

In a world full of fear, the message of Christmas is this:  Do not be afraid. God is with us!  
 
The recent tragedy in Connecticut reminds us that we live in a dangerous world where evil occurs.  Evil isn’t just a concept; it’s a supernatural person the Bible calls Satan.  Three times in John’s Gospel Jesus called Satan, “the prince of this world”(John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11).  Jesus also told us that Satan has a threefold agenda for humanity: steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).  When we witness tragedies like the one that occurred in Connecticut last Friday, we are witnessing the handiwork of Satan.  Satan specializes in death; God in life.
 
So what about, “peace on earth, good will toward men!”?  It was fulfilled in the spiritual sense when Jesus died on the cross to reconcile sinful people with a holy God.  In Romans 5:1 Paul said, “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

But peace on earth in the sense of the absence of evil and its painful consequences is futuristic.  It will occur at the Second Coming of Christ when the prince of this world is cast out, and the Prince of Peace reigns.
 
So what do we do in the meantime?  We remember the words of Jesus in John 16:33. Jesus told us that in the world we will have tribulation.  That’s a reality.  But Jesus also said that in Him we could have peace.  In a world full of fear, we can have perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3).
 
So do not be afraid.  Be of good cheer.  Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us.  And He has overcome the world.
 
Pastor Todd Weston

2 Kings 10:17 records that during the reign of Solomon he made 300 shields of gold and had them stored in one of the king’s houses in Jerusalem.  Each shield contained three pounds of pure gold.  Those were some expensive shields!

After the death of Solomon, the king of Egypt came against Jerusalem and stole the shields of gold (1 Kings 14:26).  So what did Rehoboam, the son of Solomon and reigning king of Judah, do?  Did he attempt to recapture that which the enemy had stolen?  No.  Instead, he replaced the lost shields of gold with shields of brass (1 Kings 14:27).

Rehoboam is the king who settled for less.  He reasoned:  Why fight for gold when you can settle for brass?  That’s kind of like saying: Why strive for excellence when you can settle for mediocrity?

It’s sad to see people settle for less in any realm of life.  But when we settle for less in our spiritual lives, it’s not just sad, it’s tragic.  For example, consider the following statements from the Bible –

·         “When you pray…” (Matthew 6:5)
·         “If you sin…” (1 John 2:1)

Those combined statements are like a spiritual shield of gold.  They imply that prayer is a constant in the Christian life, and sin is not.  But then the enemy comes along and steals that shield of gold and replaces it with a shield of brass that says –

·         “If you pray…”
·         “When you sin…”

Shield of brass Christianity settles for less.  It assumes that sin is the usual, and prayer the unusual.

There is no biblical record that Rehoboam ever recaptured the lost shields.  But then, there is no record that he even tried.

Don’t be a Rehoboam!  Despise mediocrity.  Refuse to settle for less.  Set your standards high, stake your spiritual claim, and compromise for no one.  It’s the only way to live.

Pastor Todd Weston    

I remember trying out for the track team as an 8th grader.  Out of a student body numbering around one thousand, I think about 999 kids were out that day to make the team.  I was one of them.  It was a lot of fun and everything was going great until we started running.  We ran, and we ran, and we ran, and we ran.  We must have run about 379 miles!

It was the fulfillment of what David said in Psalm 91:7, “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand.”  That’s how it was.  As I ran, poor Jr. High students were dropping like flies all around me.  They were laying all over the track holding their sides, gasping for oxygen.  But David was wrong when he went on to say,”But it shall not come near you,” because it did!  Eventually, I joined the ranks of the quitters and fell down crying out for air.

Not enough is said today about endurance.  How easy it is to start.  How hard it is to finish.  Starting is obviously very important.  Nothing will ever get done unless we start.  But what really counts is whether or not you finish.

The Bible compares the Christian life to a race.  Many start; few finish.  Don’t be a quitter in the greater race of all.  Don’t get discouraged by the obstacles, or weary in the midst of it all.  Lift up your eyes to the eternal prize and keep on running.  In the Christian life, the prize goes not to those who finish first.  It goes to those who finish!

Pastor Todd Weston