God showed up....

The kind of senseless violence that occurred in an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut is heartbreaking and troubling to us, and to so many. Our hearts are torn to hear of children dying and the pain the parents and loved ones will endure over such an evil act. There is no understanding such a thing outside of the bible's clear message of the evil of human nature. The bible states that man is by nature sinful, and we have seen the evidence in the massacre of the children and teachers who perished at the hands of a man that made evil visible.

Some ask: where was God? In a society that has systematically asked Him to leave, such a question should not be necessary. We have long asked Him to vacate the public square, kicking Him out of schools, mocking Him in our education, movies, literature, politics, late night monologues, and music. We have cities that have forbidden manger 

scenes in the public square, school districts that have renamed traditional holidays like Christmas and Easter winter break and spring break, have renamed Christmas trees holiday trees and have companies that instruct employees not to say Merry Christmas, and yet we wonder where God was? In a culture that rejects God it is no wonder when people live as if He does not exist. 

God showed up. He was there guiding the teachers to protect the children, there with the brave police officers who came to the children’s rescue not knowing if there were many gunmen, there in the emergency personnel rushed to the scene to care for any wounded, and is revealing His presence in the prayer meetings being held in the city’s churches and the sorrow and prayer that is being lifted up throughout our country these last few days.

May the Lord somehow use His children as His vessels to bring comfort to the broken families, and may we be moved to encourage people who do not know Him to turn to Him, in these last days.

Forever teachable

Father God, open our eyes so we can see those that you send our way to be our teachers, remove from our minds those preconceived ideas that would blind us to the lessons you would have us learn. Remove from our hearts any prejudice that would place barriers between us and the blessings you wish to pour out through our brothers and sisters in Christ. Keep us forever teachable through your gentle conviction and encouragement.

Are You in A Battle Today?

And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” (Ex 14:13-14) How I have to learn and re-learn such a basic lesson. The Lord will fight for you. May we trust Him in all our battles, today! 

Great thought: "Knowledge by itself stirs the heart with pride, but united to love it turns to edification." By itself this knowledge is like water, tasteless and cold. But if those who have it will offer it humbly to our Lord and ask for His grace, He will turn the water into wine with His blessing.

Faith Builders...

Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’ (Gen 14:21-23) Trusting in God's provision provoked Abram to faithfully serve Him, and his faith was rewarded!

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Gen 6:8) In the midst of evil times, God showed grace! May we walk in His grace today!

He loves us...

The Christian is in a different position from other people who are trying to do good. The Christian thinks any good he does come from the Christ-life inside him. He does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us...

Quote of the day: The knowledge of Christ's love for us should cause us to love Him in such a way that it is demonstrated in our attitude, conduct, and commitment to serve God. Spiritual maturity is marked by spiritual knowledge being put into action.

"In Christ"

Quote of the day: Outside of Christ, I am only a sinner, but in Christ, I am saved. Outside of Christ, I am empty; in Christ, I am full. Outside of Christ, I am weak; in Christ, I am strong. Outside of Christ, I cannot; in Christ, I am more than able. Outside of Christ, I have been defeated; in Christ, I am already victorious. How meaningful are the words, "in Christ."

...were moved by the Holy Spirit

"...knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." (2 Pe 1:20-21) The Holy Spirit moved holy men to record God's holy Word which when received and lived, produces a holy people!

A Good Witness

For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you (1Pe 4:3-4) Our manner of life is noticed, so let us live for Jesus!

To Be Aware of His Presence...

In Matthew 28:20 Jesus says, "Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." In Hebrews 13:5 God says, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Jesus tells His disciples in John 14:18, "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." One of Jesus' names, Emmanuel, means "God with us." We don't need to ask God to be with us if we are members of His family. Instead, we need to pray that we will be aware of His presence, that we will be confident because of it.

Something to Remember....

Quote: Whenever a person says to me: "My problem is that I do not love the Lord enough", I usually respond: "No... your problem is that you don't know how much the Lord loves you."

Faithful....

The reward of being 'faithful over a few things' is just the same as being 'faithful over many things' for the emphasis falls upon the same word; it is the 'faithful' who will enter 'into the joy of their Lord.'

And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Ti 2:2) God still seeks to use faithful men. Are there any faithful men out there today that God can use? Prove yourselves strong today, and serve Him!

Today's Quote...

"The Bible does not teach that a man is saved by a principle, but by the shedding of blood. Salvation is not through life lived, but through life poured out. It is not by the life of Jesus that we are redeemed; but by His life given up in the pain and suffering of a shameful death, of which death there is no sufficient symbol or method of expression other than that of the shedding of blood. Redemption is provided, not by the richness of His life provided, but by the suffering of His life poured out." 

(G. Campbell Morgan)

....because He loves us....

The Christian is in a different position from other people who are trying to do good. The Christian thinks any good he does come from the Christ-life inside him. He does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us... (C. S. Lewis)

Christian Unity

Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel (Phil 1:27) The gospel of peace is magnified when it is revealed by unity among the believers!

We Were Created To Worship

The purpose of God in sending His Son to die and rise and live and be at the right hand of God the Father was that He might restore to us the missing jewel, the jewel of worship; that we might come back and learn to do again that which we were created to do in the first place – worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, to spend our time in awesome wonder and adoration of God, feeling and expressing it, and letting it get into our labors and doing nothing except as an act of worship to Almighty God through His Son, Jesus Christ. (A. W. Tozer)

Moses spent forty years in the king's palace thinking that he was somebody; then he lived forty years in the wilderness finding out that without God he was a nobody; finally he spent forty more years discovering how a nobody with God can be a somebody. (Dwight L Moody)

How Do We Get It?

Jesus says to you and me, 'I want to share with you what I have achieved. I want to live in you. I want to share my risen life with you.' How do we get it? We cannot buy it, cannot earn it, cannot work for it-no matter how hard we try. In fact the harder we try, the less likely we are of getting it, because the point is that it is a free gift! We can only accept it free! We can only receive it! We don't get it by being good! We get it by grace, i.e. Jesus Christ living in us. (Brooks)

A Request

To me it is nothing when I am applauded and well spoken of. There is only one thing I ask of you-to prove your approval of me through your works. That is how you can speak well of me, and that is what is going to do you good. This, to me, is the greatest honor. I prefer it to a material crown. I do not desire applause and being well spoken of. I have one request to make-for you to listen to me in quiet attentiveness and to put my advice into practice. This is not a theatre. You don't sit here in order to admire actors and to applaud them. This is a place where you must learn the things of God.

(John Chrysostom)

Hearts Set Toward Christ

Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become unity conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified. The body becomes stronger as its members become healthier. The whole church of God gains when the members that compose it begin to seek a better and a higher life. (A. W. Tozer)

16th Annual Inland Empire Men's Conference!

We are offering our live webcast on our website; www.calvaryccv.org if you are out of the area and unable to attend, you can join us live online!  

2012 Men's Conference

I'm really looking forward to our 16th Annual Inland Empire Men's Conference!  It will be held on Saturday, June 2nd here on our campus at Calvary Chapel Chino Valley, and I'll be joined by Pastors Chuck Smith, Raul Ries, Pancho Juarez, Ken Graves and John Randall !  We have a great day planned filled with worship, the Word and fellowship!  There is no charge to attend...and if you would like to purchase a carne asada taco lunch plate...you can purchase a lunch ticket for $9.00 beginning on May 6th.  Just visit our website www.calvaryccv.org for more information! 

Reaching the Lost!

And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord (Ac 11:21) May God's hand be with us, using us to reach so many lost people.

Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith (Ac 6:7) It is God's Word that needs to resound from the pulpit, as it is the power of God for salvation!

We must come into personal contact with the risen Savior and have His very life quicken our mortal flesh before we can know the fullness and reality of His healing. This is the most frequent cause of failure. People are often trusting in something that his been done to them, or in something that they have done, or in something that they have believed intellectually. Their spirit, however, has not felt its way to the heart of Christ; they have not drawn His love into their being by the hunger and thirst of love and faith, and so they are not quickened. The greatest need of our souls and bodies is to know Jesus personally, to touch Him constantly, to abide in Him continually.

May we this day lay aside all things that could hinder our near approach to Him and walk hand in hand, heart to heart, with Jesus.

‎"If we would take the whole of the Sermon on the Mount and apply it to the whole of life - it would renew our Christianity—it would renew the world. Our present-day Christianity, anaemic and weak from the parasites that have fastened themselves on its life through the centuries, needs a blood transfusion from the Sermon on the Mount in order to renew radiant health within it, so that it may throw off these parasites and arise to serve and save the world." E. Stanley Jones

Do You Believe This ?

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (Jn 11:25-26) Yes Lord, I do believe! I am alive because You are Life!

The Harvest !!

Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest (Jn 4:35) Many are entering in to the kingdom right now! Keep sharing the gospel!

What do you trust in?

No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (Lu 16:13) Which one will I trust in: God, or money? Today, I will keep my eye on the One who does not give false security!!

Meekness

The meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. Rather he may be in his moral life as bold as a lion and as strong as Samson; but he has stopped being fooled about himself. He has accepted God's estimate of his own life. He knows he is as weak and helpless as God has declared him to be, but paradoxically, he knows at the same time that he is in the sight of God of more importance than angels. In, himself nothing; in God, everything. Tozer