Fighting the Good Fight

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
2 Timothy 4:7

If you are anything like me, you have been watching the Olympics way too late into the evening (really, gymnastics at midnight, come on). I am mesmerized by the twists and turns, the elation of winning the gold, and most of all the stories of the young people who have arrived at the greatest of the world’s competitions.

My favorite story this year is of Yusra Mardini. She and her sister fled Syria in August 2015. They left Lebanon and headed to Turkey. In Turkey, they boarded a boat to Greece. Thirty minutes into their journey, the boat started to sink as it took on water. She jumped out and swam the boat (and all its occupants) to safety. This took over three hours. Mardini said, “I thought it would be a real shame if I drowned in the sea, because I am a swimmer” (CNN).

Yusra Mardini (BBC)

This kind of perseverance, and that of all the athletes who make it to the Rio competition, inspires us to be the best in our own personal arena. It reminds us that we, too, can achieve greatness. It may not be the kind worthy of a gold medal (really, my six year old can swim faster than me in the pool), however, it can be worth more than gold in the Kingdom of God. Christ promised His disciples that they would be able to do even more than He did, through Him! (John 15:12-14). Where is God calling you to serve Him in the Kingdom? If we are faithful and prayerful, God will show us the way.

Best of all, we are not alone. Jesus promises us that the Holy Spirit is inside of us and will never leave us (John 14:15-17). As we move through the challenges and hurdles that we face, may we fight against a spirit of timidity (2. Timothy 1:7), and hold tight to the promises that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). So that one day, when we meet our Savior face to face, we can approach with humble confidence saying, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

-Rev. Michelle

A Melodic View of Calvinism

While we do not spend a great deal of time debating theology here at Village, there is no question about my particular theological stance. I am an unflinching Calvinist.

I am often amused by people who do not really know what that means somehow relate Calvinist thinking to some kind of dour and grumpy "churchiness." The truth is that nothing could be farther from the truth. Yes, Calvinistic theology places a strong emphasis on biblical and doctrinal knowledge. Here is why: we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. This transformation is necessary for heartfelt worship so that we may gain understanding of God and His ways.

However, Calvinism is not and for that matter has never been, merely cerebral. The roots of the authentic Reformed Christian experience are found in the highest order of spiritual experience.  Calvinistic doctrine is always expressed soaring words and 'songs' of praise. This melody is heard in the worship, the lifestyle and the experience of Reformed Christians everywhere.

Are we serious about our world view? Certainly, but serious does not equal 'dour' or joyless.  Calvin himself spoke of this as a glorious symphony blending several motifs. The motifs he spoke of may well be related to the five points of the later Calvinist mnemonic TULIP. Calvin's motifs were:

• Trust in the sovereignty of God.
• The experience of the power of God's grace to save hopeless and helpless sinners.
• An overwhelming sense of being loved by a Savior who has died specifically and successfully for one's sins.
• The discovery of a grace that has set one free to trust, serve, and love Christ while yet not destroying one's will.
• The quiet confidence and poise engendered by knowing that God has pledged Himself to persevere with His people "till all the ransomed church of God is saved to sin no more."

--Pastor Jim

A House Undivided

"So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world." James 4:7-8a

Humble yourself, resist the devil, come close to God, wash your hands, purify your hearts – all of these statements are actions. They are things we must do. The Apostle James tells us that we must act. We must choose to act, strive forward, and move toward Christ. Our loyalty is divided James says, do we choose the world or ourselves. Can we claim like Joshua, that as for me and my house we will serve the Lord?

I guess the follow up question is, what does that choice look like for you and me? Where in your life are you choosing yourself, your own needs, desires, pride, over that of Christ's will? I think it's different for each of us.  And I mean in the big things – the character issues. I bet we all would say we should read our Bibles more, pray more, but where do we need to choose Jesus in how we talk, or what we do with our time, or how we treat those closest to us or those that sometimes drive us crazy? Are we choosing to be the city on the hill to the world, or are we choosing what makes us comfortable or feel better about ourselves? Are we being true disciples? Are we standing up when Jesus says go, and allowing God to stretch us for our full potential?

There is a young woman named Katie Davis who is a modern day example of one who chose to no longer be divided, but whole-heartedly follow Jesus. She is about 27 years old. When she was 18 she went on a short-term mission trip to Uganda from Tennessee. "She was immediately captivated with the people and the culture". The next year she went back to teach kindergarten at an orphanage. She was a single teenager who chose Jesus.  "As she walked the children home, she was shocked to see the sheer number of school-aged children walking along the road, playing with their friends, washing their families' dishes or digging in the fields. She learned that most schools in Uganda require school fees for attendance." She started a sponsorship program that now helps 700 children. She saw the poverty and the deaths of children to malnutrition and starvation and started the Masese Feeding Outreach which provides meals to 1200 children Monday through Friday. She started the self-sustaining vocational program to empower women to generate an income, and throughout this time became a mother to thirteen orphan girls who now have a family.



Katie once said, "People tell me I am brave. People tell me I am strong. People tell me good job. Well here is the truth of it. I am really not that brave, I am not really that strong, and I am not doing anything spectacular. I am just doing what God called me to do as a follower of Him. Feed His sheep, do unto the least of His people."  

(Information and image provided by https://amazima.org/about-us/katies-story)

Maybe she isn't that brave, or strong or spectacular, but she chose on that day at 18, and every day since then, to serve the Lord and to view her life as clay molded by the Master Potter - a living instrument for the will of God. And thousands are changed because of it.

Let us live lives of action, undivided, and focused on the One who holds us close.

--Rev. Michelle

The Loose Leaf Bible

For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.  For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 

And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 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. 
II Peter 1: 16-21


In spite of our foolish attempts to decrease God's standing to something resembling our own, the fact is that God is so completely different (holy) from us that the only possible way we can truly know Him is as He has chosen to reveal Himself to us.  That comes down to two specifics.  First He reveals himself to us in the manifest glory of creation. Then he reveals Himself through the prophets and apostles.

To be sure, the Bible is neither  culturally driven, nor is it politically correct.  It is important that our beliefs are firmly grounded in God's inerrant Word -- and not on human speculation about God. This is why we must trust the Bible as the only infallible rule of life, faith and all beliefs about God. Church councils and confessions, as well as scholarly writings, are useful and helpful understanding and communicating our Christian faith but they are the works of man and are not infallible. The 66 canonical books of the Bible are the only writings which are God breathed an infallible.  As Paul explained to Timothy: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,  that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 
II Tim. 3: 16-17

This written revelation traces back to the time when God Himself inscribed the Ten Commandments on stone tablets and then instructed Moses to write Israel's Law and history in the first five books of our Bible. Living according to this written revelation has always been the central tenet of God's Covenant people. Both leaders and laity should know God's written Word, obey that Word, and pass it to the next generation un blemished and unchanged.  Our best confession (IMHO), The Westminster, has stated it this way:

"The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, and obeyed, depends not upon the testimony of any man, or Church; but wholly upon God (who is truth itself) the author thereof: and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God." 

Allow me to be very clear:  Jesus and the apostles believed the Scriptures to be divine revelation, to be studied and obeyed.  When Satan tempted Him, Jesus responded with the written Word (Matt. 4).  When two disciples were on the road to Emmaus, Jesus revealed Himself to them with the words of Scripture.

Paul believed that all Scripture was inspired by God and Peter placed Paul's writing on an equal footing with the books of the Old Testament.  Accordingly, the orthodox and faithful Church correctly regards the apostles' written teaching about Christ to be the completion of the testimony of God begun by Moses. In other words, what the Bible says, God said.  All that the Biblical writers wrote should be received as the infallible revelation of God and God's direct, immutable instructions to His people.  None of us should ever treat scripture as if it were a loose leaf Gospel from which we may remove pages we don't like – or conversely into which we may add things we wish God would permit.

--Pastor Jim

Authentic Faith

I heard this story about Christians in the Soviet Union when being Christian was outlawed, and proclaiming Christ as Lord warranted execution. Some Christians were secretly meeting when Russian soldiers entered with guns. They gave the Christians one chance. They said if they would denounce Christ as Lord they could leave. The people were scared, terrified, and most did what was requested - fled the worship space. A few stayed and prepared to die. The Russian soldiers looked at them and put down their guns.  They said let us worship. We only want to worship with real Christians. They then began to worship. Those Russians congregants had the courage, and lived the faith.

-- Rev. Michelle

Being Saints (1 Cor. 1:1-9)

Paul begins his letter to the Church in Corinth by saying, "To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ - their Lord and ours". Paul calls the church members sanctified, meaning they are saints, a term he uses again later in the chapter. Paul's use of saint does not mean someone of impeccable moral quality, like we often think about it. Paul knew that the Corinthians were spiritually immature. But he wrote Saint, because he knew a Saint was someone who was simply set apart from the world and belonged/sealed to Christ. When we think of the word "Saint" we think of all the good we must do to be good enough, but Paul said you are a saint not by what you do but by who you are in relation to Christ. As we learn in Romans - we are no longer sinners in our own clothes, but have been clothed in Christ and what God sees is His created love dressed in perfection.

I heard a story of a mother and her son Jeff. The mother said, Several years ago, Jeff played in a special Little League for kids with disabilities. After many seasons of watching from the bleachers and rooting while his big brother played ball, Jeff's opportunity finally arrived. When he received his uniform, he couldn't wait to get home to put it on. When he raced out from his bedroom, fully suited up, he announced to me, "Mom, now I'm a real boy!" Though his words pushed my heart to my throat, I assured him he had always been a "real boy."  That is what God does with us. When we do good works or serve others, or do other "saintly" things, we think now I am being a Christian. Now I'm doing right. But it isn't about what we do; it's about what Jesus did. God is saying I've seen you as a saint all the time, thank You for living in a way that brings us closer and you see what I see. Continue on in that direction and you will know Me more.

--Rev. Michelle