What Wondrous Love

Calvary Faith Walk Great events @a Great Place...

Just a reminder to our CFW family that we have some exciting events planned for Passion Week.

3.29 Good Friday Worship & Communion Service 7pm @CFW

3.30 Men's Connection Breakfast 8am @CFW 

3.31 Community Sunrise Service 7am @Flattop Park  

3.31 Continental Breakfast 9am @CFW (Bring finger foods to share)

3.31 Easter Service 10am @CFW 

I hope you will make this week a spiritual priority for family and take part in these events...and bring a friend!

 

 

 

'...My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?' Matthew 27:46 NKJV

It's Good Friday! Imagine with me having to stand on a stage and watch every sin you've ever committed replayed for the entire world to see - your secret addictions, your selfish motives, your angry outbursts, your critical attitudes and your jealous heart. How do you think you'd feel? Well, Jesus experienced much worse. The Bible says: 'He...bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness - by whose stripes you were healed.' (1 Peter 2:24 NKJV) It's bad enough to die for sins you didn't commit, but imagine being forsaken by God! It's the same word Paul used when he wrote: 'Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world...' (2 Timothy 4:10 NKJV) Paul looked for Demas and couldn't find him. And on the cross, Jesus looked for His Father and couldn't find Him either. Does that mean the Psalmist was wrong when he wrote in Psalm 37:25 NIV: '...I have never seen the righteous forsaken...'? No, because at that moment Jesus was anything but righteous. When you look at Him hanging there you will see the gossiper, the liar, the cheater, the alcoholic, the porn addict, the child abuser, the murderer. Does it bother you to see His name linked with theirs? Well, Jesus did even more. He put Himself in their place - and yours. In a move that broke God's heart and gave us the gift of eternal life, He poured out His righteous judgment on His only Son. So when Jesus cried from the cross, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?' He said it so that you would never have to. What wondrous love we get! You are loved...

Be Real

     
'...Beware of...hypocrisy.' Luke 12:1 NKJV

As I was reading through like 12 today, the word 'hypocrisy' stood out to me because it affects the Christian culture as whole. Jesus was laying out a new way for the disciples to live, yet he kept bumping into those who said one thing and did another. The word 'Hypocrisy' can be translated as 'hype'. And hype, no matter how religious it is, is only a charade. Jesus denounced it. Speaking about the religious leaders of His day, He said: '...Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.' (Luke 12:1-3 NKJV) Why was Jesus so hard on hypocrites? Because hypocrisy accuses in others what it excuses in us, says one thing but does another, puts popularity above principle, loves admiration but cuts corners when it comes to integrity. Take Peter, for example. He preached that all people are equal in Christ, but he practiced it selectively. And Paul confronted him on it. 'When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth...I [spoke] to Peter in front of them all...' (Galatians 2:11-14 NIV) God understands your weaknesses and He will work with you on them, but He won't put up with your hypocrisy. So be real! Stand strong and live the truth...you are loved.

Let Go!

'...We will find grace to help us when we need it most.' Hebrews 4:16 NLT

The Bible says, 'Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.' Most of us grew up being told, 'If you want something you'll have to work for it.' But a strong work ethic can skew our thinking when it comes to receiving what God wants to freely give us. This idea of something free was a hard one for me to grasp. I worked hard all my life and to get something free when most free things have strings attached; it was a new learning curve for me. But with God its different. God is always pouring out His blessing, and as empty, thirsty vessels we must learn to open our hearts to what He offers. To 'get' implies to obtain by our own effort. To 'receive' implies to accept what's being freely and graciously offered. Jesus came to deliver us from struggling, not invite us into a new way of struggling under the banner of Christianity. We need to realize that all of God's blessings are given because of grace, and received by faith. I love what Joyce Meyer writes: 'I was always trying to "do" something, and leaving God out of the loop. I tried to change myself, my husband and children, tried to get healed...even make my ministry grow... But God will never permit us to succeed without Him. If He did, we would take all the credit. Finally I learned to pray for what I needed and allowed God to provide it His way, in His timing. When I did, I entered into His rest.' To get to this point in your spiritual walk you must realize your importance to God, and then learn to count on His grace. The truth is; He is more than willing to help you if you'll only let go of your independent attitude. Be Blessed today, you are loved... 

Bumps

      

'These trials will show that your faith is genuine...' 1 Peter 1:7 NLT

Part of my message yesterday was on being a overcomer in life. We read scripture and understand it, but its oh so hard to live it out sometimes. Living out our faith when the bumps hit is the biggest test on the road to walking the victorious life. Sometimes we look around to gauge how other people's faith is compared to ours. It is impossible to tell by looking at a person how much faith they have. Compare your faith to a covered bucket of water; you only discover how much is inside when somebody bumps it. Likewise, when life bumps you, you spill out what you are full of. Maybe you took a financial hit in the last few years: bump! What spilled out, fear or faith? Maybe you, or a loved one, received bad news from the doctor and you're going for tests: bump! What splashed over the side? Dreading the worst or trusting God for the best? People can't tell by looking at you how much faith you have, but they can tell by listening to you. In life, bumps are going to happen. You will be tested. And the purpose of the test is not just to reveal your faith, but to refine it. God doesn't test your faith in order to know how much you have, He already knows. No, He tests your faith so that you can know - and start strengthening it. Stop and consider the hardest thing that's going on in your life right now, then ask yourself, 'Is this situation decreasing my faith or increasing it?' The Bible says: 'These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold - though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.' (1 Peter 1:7 NLT) You are loved!

Winning Your Personal War With Satan (5)

     

'...Wash your hands, you sinners...' James 4:8 NIV

Today I will finish with our thoughts on spiritual warfare. James 4:8 says,'Wash your hands, you sinners.' The moment you 'come near to God,' you become aware of your condition. Notice, God doesn't demand you wash your hands before He will respond to you! All your attempts at self-improvement won't work. Why? Because His grace is the only basis on which He can relate to you (Ephesians 2:89). God points to your defeat zones not to condemn you, but to cleanse you. He knows that dirty hands enable Satan to accuse you before Him so He tells you to wash your hands, 'and do not give the devil a foothold.' (Ephesians 4:27 NIV) Once you've confessed your sins and been cleansed, you can look Satan in the eye and say, 'No ground; not even an inch!' James continues, '...Purify your hearts, you doubleminded.' (James 4:8 NIV) Your heart is like a hard drive; it's where you store things. 'It is with your heart that you believe...' (Romans 10:10 NIV) Your heart generates and stores your beliefs, constructive and destructive. Once you form a belief you begin to live it out good or bad. If you allow double mindedness in- you begin to do things you know that's wrong, yet think you can get away with it. How can you overcome the enemy with a heart full of wrong beliefs and a double mind? It isn't by turning over a new leaf'? It's by coming before God and saying, 'Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a steadfast spirit within me.' (Psalm 51:10 NKJV) When you pray that way, God will cleanse you, clothe you with power, and cause you to walk in victory. You are loved!

Winning Your Personal War With Satan (4)

    

'Come near to God and He will come near to you...' James 4:8 NIV

Resisting the devil is imperative, but it is not the endgame. Think about this for a moment because it's really pretty simple: 'Come near to God and He will come near to you.' Satan's goal is to drive a wedge between you and God, so how do you keep him from doing it? By closing the gap between you and God! There are three things that make or break us in our daily battles walking this journey of faith:  (1) We Distance ourselves from God unconsciously... You become preoccupied, self-centered, or overcommitted. Before you know it, prayer is limited to grace said over meals, Bible reading to the pastor's sermon text, and worship to a Sunday morning interlude.  The writer of Hebrews says '...Pay more careful attention, therefore, to what [you] have heard, so that [you] do not drift away.' (Hebrews 2:1 NIV) Distancing is a subtle drift, not a sudden dash. (2) Distancing from God is dangerous... Satan's goal is to separate you from God and His blessing. Like a soldier in enemy territory who's cut off, you become an easy target. The Bible says, 'If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.' (Ecclesiastes 4:10 NLT) (3) Distancing from God is a choice... But it's your choice, never God's! He says, '...I will never leave you, nor forsake you.' (Hebrews 13:5 NKJV) Whatever your circumstances, He remains faithful. 'When you pass through the waters...the fire...I am with you...' (Isaiah 43:2-5 NIV) What's God's part? 'He will come near to you.' Take one step in His direction and He will close the gap, embrace, secure, and enable you '...to stand against the wiles of the devil.' (Ephesians 6:11 NKJV) So put on the whole armor of God! You are loved... 

Winning Your Personal War With Satan (3)

'...Resist the devil...he will flee from you.' James 4:7 KJV

Just a reminder to our parents of teenagers, that tonight is Youth Group here @CFW. I hope you'll make spiritual discipleship a priority in your children's lives...starts @6:45 @CFW...Also Men's Conference (May 17-18) early Registration deadline is this Sunday; $57 early bird special.

Yesterday we looked at applying self-control to our daily lives. That seems funny to put it that way but once you become self-controlled, alert, and submitted to God, your next step must be to: 'Resist the devil...he will flee from you' When you are properly aligned with Jesus, His power and authority are behind you and at your disposal. Then when you act or speak you do so, not on your own, but as His representative. Think about it this way; when a police officer orders you to stop because you're driving too fast, the entire force of the law comes into operation. If you refuse to stop you are taking on the whole police force, the court, bringing down the full weight of their combined authority on your head. Some of you understand this totally because you've put this to the test. Others have never had the full authority of the law on them and so its harder to understand. In some ways it's also harder to understand in the spiritual realm. Think about this for a moment; as long as that policeman is aligned with and submitted to those who are over him when he speaks and acts - they speak and act through him. Are you getting the idea? In God's Kingdom the submitted life represents the King. So when you speak and act according to God's will, He speaks and acts through you. Even Satan cannot break this chain of command! Nor can he withstand it. 'Behold, I give you the authority...over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.' (Luke 10:19 NKJV) When you are submitted to God you can resist the devil as Jesus did when He said, 'Away from Me, Satan! For it is written: "Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only." Then the devil left Him.' (Matthew 4:1011 NIV) And when you speak those same words to the devil, '...he will flee from you.' (James 4:7 KJV) You are loved...