We forget so easily that in the spiritual life there must be the darkness of the night before there can be the radiance of the dawn. Before the life of resurrection can be known, there must be the death that ends the dominion of self. It is a serious but a blessed decision, this willingness to say, "I will follow Him no matter what the cost. I will take the cross no matter how it comes!" (I Talk Back to the Devil...A. W. Tozer)

Grace To Serve

We all struggle with selfish ambition, but we read in the Bible where the apostle Paul tells us, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." (Phil 2:3,4)

Our human nature is such that we desire to be served, rather than to serve. Even among the apostles-those unbelievable eleven men who remained faithful to the Lord, we see an attitude of selfish ambition, of constant arguing amongst themselves about who was special…who was the greatest! Jesus had said, " …but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be the slave of all." (Mark 10:43,44)

Jesus is our great example to follow, and as we look to Him we begin to understand that we can show our love for Him and others, by serving one another. My encouragement to you is to follow that example and begin practicing this godly discipline of service today! You see, it is easy to find ways to serve...it is simply the love of Christ, put into action! Please pray and ask the Lord to show you areas where you can be His hands of service-to your family, your neighbors, your community, and your church. God has been good to us, He has shown us grace... and in light of that, we should always desire to show His grace as we serve others!

Great Devotional Thought from Tozer

Just what attracts us to the church we attend? What a question to ask, especially from a pastor. Still, after nearly 41 years of walking with the Lord, and after 38 years of ministry, the things Tozer says are things I and many of my fellow pastor friends see quite regularly. Is the church you attend helping you to really know Jesus and His word? Tozer says it well, and what he says should be heard clearly. Here you go, may the Lord minister to us all!

Failure and Success: The Great Goddess Numbers

Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. --1 Corinthians 3:12-13

The emphasis today in Christian circles appears to be on quantity, with a corresponding lack of emphasis on quality. Numbers, size and amount seem to be very nearly all that matters even among evangelicals. The size of the crowd, the number of converts, the size of the budget, the amount of the weekly collections: if these look good the church is prospering and the pastor is thought to be a success. The church that can show an impressive quantitative growth is frankly envied and imitated by other ambitious churches.

This is the age of the Laodiceans. The great goddess Numbers is worshiped with fervent devotion and all things religious are brought before her for examination. Her Old Testament is the financial report and her New Testament is the membership roll. To these she appeals as arbiters of all questions, the test of spiritual growth and the proof of success or failure in every Christian endeavor.

A little acquaintance with the Bible should show this up for the heresy it is. To judge anything spiritual by statistics is to judge by another than scriptural judgment. It is to admit the validity of externalism and to deny the value our Lord places upon the soul as over against the body. It is to mistake the old creation for the new and to confuse things eternal with things temporal. Yet it is being done every day by ministers, church boards and denominational leaders. And hardly anyone notices the deep and dangerous error.

"Follow Me"

We are eagerly making preparations for our upcoming Inland Empire Women's Conference which is being held on Saturday, October 22, 2011. The conference runs from 9:00am to 3:00pm here on our church campus. We're so blessed to welcome our friends, Sandy MacIntosh and June Hesterly as our guest speakers as well as Sarah MacIntosh who will be sharing her music and testimony. Our theme is taken from Luke 9:23, "Follow Me." Spanish translation is available. For more information or driving directions to our campus, please visit our website at www.calvaryccv.org

This is what the LORD says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions (Jer 18:11) He could say this to our nation! Today, may we will live for Him!

A Sure Foundation

Is there anything you need to do to improve on God's grace? Unfortunately, there are many people today who think that in order to lead a completely Christian life you need to follow a pattern of rules, regulations, and laws. But the reality is that it is by faith that you were saved and the Holy Spirit took up residence in you and empowered you. It wasn't because you followed certain rituals or commands.

Abraham was justified not by his works of obedience, but by his faith, which produced the works of obedience. God had promised to make Abraham a blessing through his descendants (Genesis 12:1-3), Abraham trusted in that promise and by faith he obeyed God's commands.

It is not the obedience of a command that saves anyone, salvation has always been granted on the basis of personal faith. I would urge you to be very careful when someone tries to put their conditions on your salvation, saying things like, "Faith is fine, but it’s really not enough - you must follow our way." Or, "You must be baptized in our church." It is the grace of God that brought salvation to us...why would it now be left solely up to us to continue in our walk with Him? Jesus has promised us that He will change us from the inside...through the power of the Holy Spirit! (Luke 24:49) You see, no rule or regulation can do more for you than what Jesus did on the cross...His sacrifice for us was a one time - for all time event, never needing to be repeated!

The Lord, in Isaiah 28:16 said, "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation..." What an encouragement for us...that we don't have to put our trust in our own abilities, or the rules and regulations of others...our trust is in the solid, sure foundation of Christ!

God Pursues Us When We Fail

After Peter denied Christ some would have thought that his ability to follow and serve God was over, but Jesus, upon His resurrection, pursued the wayward apostle, desiring to restore him to a place of communion with God and service for the Master. John 21:15-17 records Jesus' conversation with Peter, "Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?' He said to Him, 'Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.' He said to him, 'Feed My lambs.' He said to him again a second time, 'Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?' He said to Him, 'Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.' He said to him, 'Tend My sheep.' He said to him the third time, 'Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?' Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, 'Do you love Me?' And he said to Him, 'Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed My sheep.'"

Our Lord is in the restoration business and that's just what He did for the Apostle Peter, He brought him back to a place where he could be used by God. Jesus seeks out that which is lost and He draws back the wandering Christian after they have failed. Jesus repairs us when we are broken. He takes care of us, He strengthens us, and He refreshes us when we are at our lowest. If there are sins that separate us from the Lord, God will deal with these things; He will settle the unfinished business so that we can walk closely with Him. God is not surprised when we fail. But it is through our brokenness that God brings healing!

Have you wandered away from the Lord? Have you failed? Are there things in your life that need to be dealt with? Do you know that God is pursuing you? He desires to restore you - to repair that which is broken in your life. Jesus is YOUR Good Shepherd; will you once again turn back to Him?