Fred

At the end of the year I always challenge you to read God’s Word on a regular basis. Reading God’s Word consistently is essential for spiritual growth. I am thankful that habit was instilled in me as a young teen. Yes, I’ve had times when it was a struggle and there still are days when I miss, but we must never quit the practice. The Daily Bread and other devotionals have their place but there is no substitute for the Word itself.  

I vary my “quiet time” each year. I need variety. I change translations. I change my method. This year I used the daily Bible reading guide we make available. I will finish it this week. Desire accomplished is sweet to the soul. Two options are available for 2021 are on the kiosk in the foyer. If you have never read the Bible through in a year, I would encourage you to make a goal in 2021.  It takes about 15-20 minutes each day. One format has you reading a different type of Scripture each day. For example, you read the Pentateuch on Mondays, the Gospels on Fridays. The other chart maps out reading the Bible chronologically. That too can be a big help.   

Maybe you desire a new method of reading this year. I’m doing something different. The important thing is we incorporate Bible reading as a habit of life.  And don’t forget – we must always practice what we read.  Bible study is fruitless unless we obey it, Ja 1:22, “Do not merely listen to the Word … Do what is says.”  John Bunyan said, “This book will keep you from sin – or sin will keep you from this book.” May we be a people of the Book!

I saw a recent poll: 51% of Americans are scared; 49% are angry. Now both emotions are not necessarily sinful but can be.  “Watch out the stove is hot!” is a healthy fear but wringing your hands in anxious worry is wrong. Scripture tells us to be angry but not to sin. Unresolved anger will turn into bitterness. Our anger is justified when it is righteous. Far too often mine is self-centered.

Over the coming holidays may we guard our hearts. Yes, we’re experiencing the worse health crisis in our lifetimes. But as God’s children we’re under his loving care. Be sensible, wash your hands, wear a mask, but don’t succumb to fearful worry. And even if I am careful and get COVID Jesus has promised to always be with me. Others are angry. Some feel the election was stolen, others are mad over COVID restrictions. Regardless of our circumstances, God is sovereign. He is in control. Nothing will thwart his plan. I have a decision to make. 

Will I trust him even when I don’t understand? Will I choose to believe his Word over my emotions? “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God for I shall again praise him,” Ps 42:11. David chose to trust God, even admitting his fears, “When I am afraid, I put my, trust in you,” Ps 56:3. Trusting God is a matter of faith. May this Christmas be a time of trusting the Lord for whatever he allows into our lives. We sing, “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.” He came to deliver us from our anxious fears – to set us free from our sinful anger.  Merry Christmas.  

This fall several of our men read together the book by Kevin DeYoung, Taking God at His Word. I was particularly interested when he wrote, “When I speak at conferences and churches, I’m often surprised how few people bother to look at their Bibles when I’m speaking … It is not a good habit.”   

Folks, I have no authority in myself. I don’t want you to just take my word for it. God’s people should be testing everything I say against God’s Word. We need a spirit like the Bereans in Ac 17.  Listen to v. 11, “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” The Bereans searched their Old Testaments to see if what Paul was preaching had divine authority. And they confirmed it did – therefore they believed the gospel. The Bible was their standard, not tradition, not personal feelings, or their own opinions. 

You will often hear me say, “Look at the text.” It is my conviction that all I say in the pulpit is based on the authority of the Word of God. I want you to see it for yourself. So, whether you have a Bible in your lap or use a Bible Ap on your phone – please look at the text. Sola Scriptura. Only the Scriptures. That is our only authority. 

And speaking of the Bible – why not consider picking up one of the Bible reading charts in the foyer for 2021? We need to be a people of the Book – here in our services and at home too.

What is your dream for Holt Baptist Church? As a pastoral candidate back in December 2006, I answered a question about the church’s future with proposing the idea of developing a strategic plan. It took a year of prayer and discussions but a three year plan was created and implemented. Now 14 years later we can look back with gratitude at the four strategic plans the church has affirmed.  Each oversaw a period of 3 years. 2019 ended our last plan. Over a hundred initiatives have been proposed and accomplished.  Some initiatives morphed, others upon prayerful consultation were dropped. Prov 19:21, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”

This past March the deacons and elders met to discuss a new strategic plan. That meeting was providentially hijacked by COVID, slowing the process down but not stopping it. Yesterday we met again to pray and articulate what needs to be done. In the weeks ahead you will hear more about a new strategic plan for the coming year and following. Keep this in prayer as the elders and deacons seek God’s will in this. All our dreams and initiatives must be surrendered to the biblical truth of Ja 4:15, “If it is the Lord’s will we will live and do this or that.”   

The Apostle Paul said, “a great door for effective work has opened to me,” 1 Cor 16:9. A door of effective ministry is open for us today too. It is exciting to think how God will use HBC in the next three years!

What a year this has been, eh? 2020. No one could have predicted this. It has been difficult. And yet I am reminded of the Apostle Paul in a Roman jail writing a book that mentions joy more than any other! Paul’s dream was to go to Rome to preach the gospel. Instead of going to Rome as a preacher – he went as a prisoner. Illegally arrested and falsely charged his case got buried in 2 years of bureaucratic red tape. Hearing of his imprisonment the Philippians sent a gift to encourage him. Surely, he was depressed for his evangelistic ministry would be at a standstill. But Paul wasn’t discouraged. “I want you to know … that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,” Phil 1:12.  

“Advance” describes pioneer woodcutters clearing a path. It is a military term too – engineers removing rocks and trees as they prepare a road for the advancing army. Instead of hindering the gospel’s advance – Paul’s imprisonment was spreading it. In fact, we learn later in the book, some had come to Christ because of it. Wow! 

Joy is not the result of right circumstances but from a gospel-focus. Only eternity will reveal how this year helped in spreading the gospel. We just don’t have a full picture on what God has done – and is doing right now. The right perspective is crucial. One ship sails east; one ship sails west, regardless of how the winds blow. It is the set of the sail – and not the gale that determines the way they will go. Is your sail set toward advancing Christ’s gospel? 

It is appropriate with the holiday this week for me to say how thankful I am for the ministry of Jay Adams who passed away a week ago at the age of 91. Jay Adams was the father of the modern biblical counseling movement. As a pastor Adams was dissatisfied with the counseling training he had received in seminary – with a mixture of secular psychology. In 1963, he was invited to teach practical theology at a seminary. He did extensive study on what the Bible taught about the conscience, guilt, who we are as humans, and how we can change. He saw the Bible’s way of counseling was radically dependent on the work of the Holy Spirit and the Bible.

In 1968 Dr. Adams and another man began CCEF – the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation; his first book, Competent to Counsel, was published in 1970. As the movement grew, people asked for training. The need for certification became evident. In 1976 the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors was formed. Today its name is the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors – ACBC, of which I and others here are members.  

As a biblical counselor I am grateful for the dedication of this man. The biblical counseling movement has morphed since those early days – and it was necessary and needed. But God greatly used Jay Adams to awaken the church to return to the sufficiency of Scripture in meeting the answer to our problems. And because of that, our ministry here is indebted to Dr. Jay Adams. Well done, good and faithful servant.  

Alex Trebek, host of Jeopardy died a week ago from a long-fought battle with pancreatic cancer. I’m sure you have seen the numerus tributes for him on TV, in print or on your phone/computer. In one of those tributes, Trebek said his favorite animal was the water buffalo. 

Why?

He said, water buffalos work together to care for each other, the young and the old. When attacked, the healthy animals circle the vulnerable, heads out to defend them against the threat. Their head, neck, horns are almost impervious to attack. A water buffalo has been known to throw a lion 10 feet into the air! 

Wow!  Can you see a beautiful illustration here? That’s what we must do as the church of Jesus Christ. In the power of the Holy Spirit, we must form a circle of protection around our most vulnerable. That list changes from time to time – and sometimes we would be included, right? You’ve heard me say it many times – “no lone rangers.” It takes a church to raise a Christian. We need each other. I can’t do this alone. I need my godly friends encouraging, exhorting and defending me when I am vulnerable. I think the water buffalo is a great favorite animal to have, don’t you?

Ryan and Abigail de Roos were students at what was then, New Tribes Bible Institute in Jackson. For two years they drove here each Sunday to be a part of our church family. After graduation, Ryan was an aviation student over in Ionia, and a nursing job opened for Abigail out of a Grand Rapids hospital. It was apparent they needed to move to be closer to school and work. During their time away they still “popped in” from time to time to keep us updated. 

After Ryan finished aviation school, they enrolled for the second half of mission training with then, Ethnos360 (formerly New Tribes) in MO. After two years they completed school and were officially accepted as missionaries with Ethnos.  The de Roos’ then moved to AZ for Ryan to further train as a helicopter pilot. Earlier this year they were asked to join the mission team in the Philippines. We are thrilled for them.

Ryan and Abigail have two precious daughters, Sydney, and Lydia. We as a church family haven’t met Lydia till today! The de Roos’ officially joined our mission family last year. It is a joy to have them here today reporting as what God has done – and continues to do through them. Ryan offered free helicopter rides this past week to supporters. That was very kind – and fun for those who participated. Make sure to greet them today and let them know you are praying for them.   

Our nation is on the verge of another presidential election. Tensions are high. I have voted in 11 previous elections. Sometimes my guy won and other times he lost. Each party uses fear to motivate their base to turn out the vote. Impending doom is predicted if their opponent wins.   

One of my daughters just told me of when she was 9 years old. She was talking with her friends on election day. They were discussing how life in America would come to an end if “so-in-so” was elected (by the way he won and that was 28 years ago and we’re still here). I was shocked. “Did your mom or me ever convey that scenario to you?” She said, “No, I just heard it at school and at church.” What a terrible thing for a child to bear. Dear loved ones – God has not given us the spirit of fear. 

My comments are not meant to be understood as apathetic or blind to reality. I urge believers to vote. To vote their conscience. To vote for the candidate that best reflects the biblical point of view. Neither party wholeheartedly does. I have my opinion and I’m sure you have yours. I am thankful politics has not divided HBC. The church isn’t meant to be a political arm of either party. We don’t know what will happen after this election. One thing we do know – Christ will be with us, his promises will remain true, his church will move forward, and the gospel will prevail. My hope is not in who wins this election. It is in Christ. Regardless of what happens Tuesday, God is in charge and it ends well. His coming kingdom is forever. 

“The present age is so flippant that if a man loves the Savior he is a fanatic and if he hates the powers of evil his is a bigot.” – Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Our culture is reeling from the fallout of Antifa, Black Lives Matter, WOKE, social justice, along with matters of equality, diversity and inclusion. Of course, no Christian would argue against true justice or racial equality. Scripture speaks of justice often—and the sin of injustice. The Bible affirms the equality of all ethnic groups for we are one race, the human race, originating from one couple. Racism is a grievous sin.

However, today people use our vocabulary but not necessarily our dictionary. Terms and words have been hijacked by the culture, distorted with new meanings. For example, social justice has come to mean: “deconstructing traditional systems and structures deemed to be oppressive and redistributing power and resources from oppressors to their victims in the pursuit of equality of outcome.” Victimization is stressed and anyone who disagrees is shamed and called a bigot.

We need to beware of these modern calls which threaten the gospel and undermine orthodox Christianity. Our culture – every culture has been filled with social evils. No one is denying that. This world is no friend of grace, never has, and never will. Our call as a church is to share Christ not to correct the social injustices of our day. True, as the gospel is embrace lives are changed, and cultural evils are dealt with accordingly.