Ward's Words | BY WARD PIMLEY

Sharing the Lord's Message of Grace

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Tag: Holy Bible

  • MY FATHER IS ALWAYS WORKING

    Jesus, in His earthly ministry, did not talk to us about rest. He talked to us about our mission, our ministry, our witnessing—in short, our work.

    MESSAGE BY WARD PIMLEY

    IF YOU WERE TO ASK ME to describe a perfect week, or even a day, no doubt I would conjure up a restful spot, probably near the ocean with a bright sun and low humidity, and I would be lounging in a comfortable chair sipping a cool drink.

    30s-SOMETHING COUPLE RELAXING BY THE LAKE

    Oh, sure, there are varieties of that image; for example, a mountainside retreat overlooking a verdant valley, or an early morning with the Bible and a steaming hot cup of coffee, but even those are not much different from the first image.

    In all three scenarios, I would be at rest.

    Yet, Jesus, in His earthly ministry, did not talk to us about rest. He talked to us about our mission, our ministry, our witnessing—in short, our work.

    We are to learn from Him and follow Him:

    • Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.” — John 5:17 (NLT)

    • Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men. — Colossians 3:23 (NKJV)

    • Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else. — Galatians 6:4 (CSB)

    Henry Blackaby, in his book Experiencing God (Kindle edition, loc. 1767), put it this way:

    “In Scripture, you never find God asking people to dream up what they want to do for Him. He never urges His people to set impressive goals and generate grand visions for Him and His kingdom.”

    ~WILLING SERVANTS~

    IN FACT, IN SCRIPTURE, we find God TELLING people what He wants them to do.

    Here’s King David looking for men to step up and pledge their allegiance to the Lord:

    • 1 Chronicles 29:5b (NKJV): “Who [then] is willing to consecrate himself this day to the LORD?”

    God is always on mission, and His mission is to reconcile a broken world of disobedient humans to Himself—-men and women created in His image for His glory, who in misguided pride, prefer to serve their own desires, not the Creator’s.

    In the next verse, God gives us the response He expects:

    • 1 Chronicles 29:6 (NKJV): “Then the leaders of the households, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly.”

    Don’t miss the key words “Gave willingly.” Not only did they give, which was what God wanted them to do, but they gave “willingly” from the heart.

    ~PRAYER FOR PEACE~

    If you want the peace and joy that comes only from giving “willingly” to God’s design for your life, then would you join me in this prayer (or use similar words):

    “LORD GOD, I am so lost. I feel an emptiness inside that I know only You can fill. Would You come into my heart and rescue me from myself and the world’s influence on my life. Lord, forgive me for how I’ve rejected You and gone my own way. I am a sinner lost in time, and I claim the promise that is mine when Christ took my sins upon Himself and suffered on the Cross for me. Lord, forgive me and give me new life.” AMEN

    If you prayed that prayer (or one similar) and genuinely meant it, then Welcome to the Kingdom of God, your Creator and Sustainer!

    From this day on, you are a new creature; the old has been washed away, replaced by the new.

    To keep on the straight path, determine to do these things daily:

    1) Read Your Bible.

    2) Pray To God.

    3) Fellowship With Other Believers.

    GO TELL SOMEONE WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR YOU!

    PRAYER

    GOD’S HOLY WORD
    GOD’S HOLY WORD

    HEAVENLY FATHER, WE THANK YOU for the gift of life through the shed blood of Your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We lift up those, Lord, who have come to You in trust for their salvation that they may know of Your unending love, Your unqualified forgiveness, and Your beneficial commands. Lord, we honor You, we praise You, we love You, and we worship You. In Jesus’ name.

    AMEN

  • I AM JUDGMENTAL

    Weekly Message by Ward Pimley

    I AM JUDGMENTAL.

    There, I said it. I’m not proud of that, but I am owning it.

    Through our local church, I am taking a year-long series of courses under the rubric of “Leadership Development,” and one of our tasks is to identify key weaknesses.

    Mine is being judgmental.

    Another way of describing it is “sarcastic.” Other terms are “condescending” and “arrogant.”

    Whoa! You can imagine how *excited* I was to learn that about myself. (Sarcasm)

    If you took an assessment of your biggest faults — weaknesses, sins — whatever you call them, could you do it? I recently did an assessment and concluded I am too judgmental; so, with God’s help, I need to change.

    Sarcasm could be family curse because I am not the only one in our clan that needs to make an adjustment, but we each travel alone when we make our assessments and seek to change.

    I might be traveling alone here.

    The Bible clearly condemns judgmentalism, so I can’t hang onto a lifeline of ambiguity in the sacred text or pass it off as so common a trait that “everyone” does it, as if that were an excuse.

    No, I’m standing in the harsh light of God’s Word shining down on me, and I need to shake free from this curse if I want to be obedient to my Maker (which I do), let alone be a church leader.

    ~FREEING MYSELF~

    SHAKING FREE of a harmful trait is not easy – in fact; it feels a lot like losing a close friend. If you’ve tried to make reforms in your life, and you probably have, then you know what I mean.

    I am encouraging myself through prayer and Bible study, focusing intently on some of the verses that speak directly to me:

    • Psalms 141:3 (NASB20) Set a guard, LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.
    • James 3:8 ( NKJV) But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
    • Proverbs 13:3 (ESV) Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
    • Matthew 12:36 (NIV) “I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.”
    • Luke 6:45b (NLT) “What you say flows from what is in your heart.”

    The last two verses were from the Master, Himself, so they appear in red letters in my Bible and require serious attention.

    ~POSITIVE SIDE~

    THE FLIP SIDE gives me more encouragement. While recognizing a negative trait that I need to curb, I also can focus on the benefits of a new spirit.

    • Ephesians 4:29 (NKJV) Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
    • Proverbs 8:8 (BSB) All the words of my mouth are righteous; none are crooked or perverse.
    • Proverbs 15:4 (NASB20) A soothing tongue is a tree of life, But perversion in it crushes the spirit.
    • Luke 24:8 (ESV) And they remembered his words.
    GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT

    As I make progress along this journey, God can and will open more doors for me to witness to the change He has brought in my life since I first trusted Him for my salvation.

    I’m eager to become an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), and I can do it only if I am obedient to His calling on my life.

    He has placed the marker down. Now, it’s my turn to respond.

    May I say, as did the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 6:8 (NKJV)):

    “Here am I! Send me.”

    ~PRAYER~

    FATHER GOD, You know my strengths and my weaknesses, how You can use me and ways I let You down. From this point on, Abba Father, mold me into the instrument You intended me to be from eternity past that I might become a true soldier of the cross, an ambassador for Christ, one of Your faithful and obedient servants. In the name of Jesus, AMEN

  • WHO DO WE TRUST, GOD OR MAN?

    Weekly Message by Ward Pimley

    Those who believe in Jesus Christ are called to place their trust in the promises of God, not in the promises of man. Our government leaders pretend to listen to us but pursue their own goals. Only God our Creator loves us enough to be worthy of our praise.

    • Colossians 3:2 (NKJV): “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
    • Psalm 118:8 (NKJV): “It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man.”

    POST-ELECTION FOLLIES

    NOW THAT THE 2020 presidential election is over and the fractious aftermath has begun, those of us who confess our faith in Jesus Christ are called to lead our country as Christ wants us to.

    Are we doing that?

    From what I see, Satan has infiltrated the church and is sowing lies and discord. Take a look at the divisions within Christendom between those who support the  Trump-Pence Administration and those who support the Biden-Harris team.

    Those of us who support the former President and Vice President are still being labeled “deplorable,” “racists,” “fascists,” and “haters,” even by those within the church who claim the mantel of Christ. 

    Even the innocuous cry to ensure accountability in the election process sets the “religious left” off. Their calls for “unity” sound good but are really a cover for stifling dissent. Unity around one set of ideas is not unity, it’s conformity.

    ~INFLAMMATORY RHETORIC~

    WE’VE SEEN THE INFLAMMATORY rhetoric of a false prophet, Beth Moore, who has shown more distain toward Christian conservatives than she has toward those openly living in sin and proclaiming their “pride” in so doing. 

    Then people who claim the mantel of Christ use her false testimony against fellow Christians and promote their hostility toward us through the secular media.

    Didn’t the apostle Paul show his disgust with Christians who dragged fellow Christians into pagan-run courts because they refused to settle differences in a peaceful and brotherly manner? (See 1 Corinthians 6).

    How is it, then, that so many of our fellow Christians, who worship each week beside us, use the tools of anti-Christian pagans to denigrate fellow believers? 

    Should we assume that those who make those charges are not true followers of Christ but merely the tares among the wheat?

    ~DESCENT OF DARK AGES~

    AT THE OTHER END OF THE DIVIDE are confessing Christians who told us the world would end, or at least civilization would cease, if Trump-Pence lost the election. They said the Dark Ages would descend  upon us once again. 

    They pointed to policy proscriptions the Democrats offer that include, but are not limited to: 

    • government-run health care, 
    • government-imposed redistribution of wealth,
    • increased welfare benefits, 
    • expanded abortion “rights”,
    • porous borders, 
    • same-sex marriage,
    • citizenship for illegal residents, 
    • voting rights for convicted felons, 
    • lowering the voting age to 16, 
    • ending America’s reliance on fossil-fuel energy, 
    • forcing employers to provide insurance coverage for abortion-inducing measures, 
    • placing stricter limitations on religious liberty, and
    • opposing Israel’s sovereignty.

    They also noted Democrats said they might, among other measures:

    • eliminate the Senate filibuster,
    • add three or four Supreme Court justices (all leftist activists),
    • extend statehood to the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to ensure four more Democrat senators, and
    • expand “ballot harvesting” to ensure a sufficient number of Democrat ballots are provided to overturn any election at the national or state level won by Republicans.

    Regardless of which administration is in power, God remains sovereign, and He will chart our course. As Christians, we are to pray for wisdom and lead by example.

    DEPEND ON GOD

    This is a gift, and only those who have placed their trust in Him for salvation can appreciate it. Those who are not “in Christ” cannot appreciate the gift, don’t recognize it as a gift, and, sadly, may not even want it.

    How else are we to get through the days, weeks, months, and years ahead when the multitude around us are heading in the wrong direction, rejecting the voice of God, and pursuing their own ends. 

    We can rest assured that God’s promises are good because He is faithful. May our hearts join together in song:

    STANDING ON THE PROMISES

    Standing on the promises of Christ my King

    Through eternal ages let his praises ring

    Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing

    Standing on the promises of God

    Standing, standing

    Standing on the promises of God my Savior

    Standing, standing

    I’m standing on the promises of God.

    ~PRAYER~

    O LORD GOD, OUR HEAVENLY FATHER, our King, our Righteousness, our salvation, we rest secure in Your promises to love us, protect us, and care for us, especially when we encounter troubled times. We pray for strengthened hearts that will proclaim Your glorious name and willing hearts that will live out Your commands. May we be Your hands and feet, O LORD, going about Your will. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. AMEN

  • PROCLAIMING GOD’S TRUTH … WITH LOVE (Part 1 of 2)

    2 Cor. 10:5 (NLT): “We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”

    Titus 2:1 (NIV): “You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.”

    James 3:1 (NET): “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, because you know that we will be judged more strictly.”

    John 17:17 (NASB2020): “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”

    ______________

    FIGHTING AGAINST FALSE TEACHING

    THE ENEMY PROWLS

    THE BODY OF CHRIST is under assault. That assault naturally comes from outside the church as Satan tries to thwart God’s plan to redeem fallen mankind.

    More dangerous, however, is the daily assault from within the church. That danger is “false doctrine,” being preached from the pulpits in many churches.

    That false doctrine comes under the heading of “Jesus Is Love,” which is true, but the false message being preached is that “Love” fully describes Jesus, when He described Himself as “Holy.”

    The difference? “Holy” includes “Love,” but it also includes “Just.”

    HOLINESS VERSUS SIN

    A HOLY GOD cannot abide sin, and, yes, sin is real, and the Bible — God’s inspired and true Word — clearly spells out sin  as “actions, words, and thoughts that violate God’s commandments.”

    GOD’S GLORY SHINES

    Let’s examine some of the sins God names: drunkenness, slander, envy/jealousy, bearing false witness (lying), disrespect toward one’s parents, disobedience to governing authorities, and sexual sin.

    Sexual sin, the Bible notes, covers sexual acts involving children; family members or close relatives; the neighbor, co-worker, or total strangers; and animals.

    Then, there’s one more category, one that God highlights throughout the sacred text: physical relations with someone of the same sex.

    Instead, God’s Word proclaims that proper sexual unions are confined to marriage partners, where one partner is male and one is female.

    SAME-SEX ATTRACTION

    SAME-SEX ATTRACTION has been siphoned out of the list of biblically named vices and presented, even within some churches, as an alternate “life choice,” considered to be as valid a  choice as opposite-sex monogamy.

    In fact, many churches are teaching that the body of Christ must accept and validate behavior that the Bible clearly labels “deviant” and “unnatural.”

    NOT GOD’S DESIGN FOR US

    Churches that do so are peddling the false doctrine that God will condone homosexual behavior because “God is love,” and He wants His creatures to be happy and connected physically and emotionally with “the one they love.”

    Some churches even teach that God’s Word is not to be taken “literally” and, thus, can be revised by the reader, according to his reason and experiences.

    However, the Bible warns teachers not to deviate from “sound doctrine” nor to teach a false message, one contrary to God’s clear teaching (Titus 2:1 NIV). In his letter to the church in Galatia, the apostle Paul said those teaching a false message should be “accursed” (Galatians 1:9 NKJV).

    This is God’s teaching about sexual sin, through Paul’s writing:

    1 Thessalonians 4:3,8 (NLT): “God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. … Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”

    LEADING CONGREGATIONS ASTRAY

    HOW DO OTHERWISE well-meaning people go astray? How? Little by little, one step at a time … until the apostasy goes unnoticed. 

    The apostasy starts in the pulpit and radiates out to encompass the congregation and, from there, spreads out to the community. 

    GATHERED TO WORSHIP

    The writer Brandon Medina, in his TheologyThink Tank article “Is the Bible the Literal Word of God?” poses the question rhetorically of whether anyone rationally believes the Bible is the “literal word of God.” He then says:

    “This is a common refrain Bible-believing Christians hear, usually from the unsaved but increasingly from those even inside the church community: pastors, seminary teachers, and laypeople alike.”

    Don’t miss that point: “Increasingly from those even inside the church community: pastors, seminary teachers, and laypeople alike.” 

    Those “laypeople,” to be influential, are the elders, deacons, teachers, home group leaders, and other respected members of the local assembly. They may be the business leaders or other accomplished persons, at least by worldly standards. 

    POSTSCRIPT

    FOR THOSE WHO WANT to sound the alarm against false teaching, the Bible clearly says we must do so with love and gentleness, and for those of us who are not Jesus, that balance often is difficult (or nearly impossible) to do well. He did it perfectly; we’re called to imitate Him.

    That makes it doubly important that we “pray in” so we’ll be connected to the Holy Spirit and then we can approach our brothers and sisters in an act of love.

    May the Lord’s blessing rest upon those who obey His command to avoid sexual sin and may it rest upon those who, in love, speak the truth to those violating God’s order.

    (Part 2 will be published after Christmas)

    ______________

    PRAYER

    HOLY AND MIGHTY GOD, please forgive us who claim to belong to the body of Christ for our sin. While some in our midst teach, or practice, false doctrine, others of us fail to call them to account.

    O LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER

    MANY, EVEN IN the church, sin by following, promoting, or teaching false doctrine, especially in the area of sexual sin; while others of us sin in our pride, arrogance, and judgmental attitude when pointing it out, as though we, ourselves, are without sin.

    BECAUSE OF our sin, our message of repentance often goes unheard. This allows those who practice sexual sin, whether same-sex or opposite-sex behavior, to continue in their deviant and disobedient actions because our testimony is tainted. Lord, only You can save Your children. Only You can calm the storm and right the ship.

    WE PRAY, LORD, that You will charge us who follow correct teaching to do so with humility and compassion and for those who promote and participate in a false doctrine to find a loving home within the body of Christ for them to return and to do so soon. Lord, we lift this prayer in the loving, holy, and just name of Jesus Christ. AMEN

  • CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO POLITICS

    Some religious leaders caution Christians against publicizing political views, fearing discord that could split the flock, while others challenge believers to engage in all areas of public life, including holding office or working as staff. What is clear, and all agree on, is that in matters of our earthly lives—including the political—God’s people are called to seek His guidance and direction and then speak the Word of God boldly. How are you called to witness for the Lord during the political season?

    Psalms 146:3-5 (NLT): “Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them. But joyful are those … whose hope is in the Lord their God.”

    2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV): “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

    Acts 1:8 (GW): “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to you. Then you will be my witnesses to testify about me … to the ends of the earth.”

    WHERE ARE THE CHRISTIAN VOICES?

    THE U.S. POLITICAL FABRIC IS TORN. 

    The last several decades have seen a wedge form within the body, separating families, friends, neighbors, and communities. On one side are those pushing for more government regulation of our personal lives, while their opponents push against more government, saying less government promotes a vibrant private sector.

    In both arenas — the role of government and the cultural war — there is no middle ground. If one is not “right,” then one is “wrong” — not partly right or mostly right, but completely wrong.

    Overlapping this battle is the divisive “culture war,” pitting secular voices  calling for “progressive” values against Christian voices defending biblical values.

    Both major political parties have seen an “ethnic cleansing” of views, where those left-of-center have migrated to one party and those right-of-center have moved to the other party.

    The result of this realignment is a political middle nearly extinct, and, with it, any chance for either side to find compromise or common ground.

    †††

    WHAT SHOULD BE THE CHRISTIAN VOICE?

    The Christian is called to observe two truths. 

    One is to follow biblical teaching; that is, to listen for God’s voice and obey His commands where He has made them clear (Lev. 22:31; Matt. 28:20; John 15:14). 

    The other is to follow the Lord’s mandate to love God and to love our fellow man. Jesus said we are to forgive our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matt. 5:44).

    The Lord was also clear that He created civil government to maintain order and domestic peace, to punish wrongdoers, and to keep us safe from our enemies (1 Pet. 2:13-14; Rom. 13:1). He even calls us to pray for our political leaders (1 Tim. 2:1-3).

    In the most famous exchange on secular observance, Jesus told his questioners to “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” (Mark 12:7).

    †††

    WE ARE REMINDED IN SCRIPTURE that the Lord Jesus will return to earth — the Second Coming — when He will gather the believers to Him and usher in a lengthy earthly reign, possibly for a thousand years, before providing the Paradise He promised that far exceeds the Garden of Eden (Rev. 21, 22). 

    Until then, we are called to witness in the way we act and speak that gives the glory to God (1 Peter 2:12).

    So, is there a “Christian List of Political Positions” that we could refer to that will tell us the biblical stand on the day’s affairs?  

    It might be easier to point to Scripture in defense of marriage between one man and one woman (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:4-6) than it is to discern a Christian position on, say, the ideal tax rate (Matt. 17:27).

    But looking for “right” positions on earthly concerns doesn’t feel at all biblical, especially in light of the apostle Paul’s statement that “our citizenship is in heaven,” and we are waiting for the Lord’s return (Phil. 3:20).

    †††

    AFTER JESUS DIED ON THE CROSS for our sins, He rose from the dead to create His church (Matt. 16:18), which He would soon commission his followers to build (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8).

    The apostle Paul was clear that the Lord’s church should follow “one Lord” (Eph. 4:3-5), so there’s very little room for discord or fractious debate within the circle of believers. That is not to say there isn’t room for disagreement. That is entirely a different matter, as long as the issue is not a clear biblical mandate.

    We’ve seen what happens when God’s people fail to consult with God on all matters of their lives, from Adam and Eve’s decision to eat of the  forbidden fruit (Gen. 3:6), to Abraham and Sarah’s plan to fulfill God’s promise to give them a son (Gen. 16:1-2), to Korah’s uprising against Moses’ leadership in the wilderness (Num. 16:31-33), and that’s just the tip of the first three books in a 66-book Bible.

    The prophet Jeremiah was pretty blunt, wasn’t he, when he put it this way when God’s people stopped asking Him for guidance: “For the shepherds are stupid and do not inquire of the LORD; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered” (Jer. 10:21).

    †††

    WHAT IS CLEAR is that in all matters of our earthly lives, including the political realm, God’s people are called on to seek God’s guidance and direction.

    The apostle James, Jesus’ half-brother, says that if anyone lacks wisdom, he or she “should ask God,” who will give it (James 1:5). He says that the wisdom God gives “is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (3:17).

    The psalmist tells us (Psalms 118:8-9 CEV) that it is “better to trust the Lord for protection than to trust anyone else, including strong leaders.”

    Lastly, we’re reminded in Acts 4:24-26, that God is sovereign, and He will determine the outcome of any event, whether it be a plea for direction in marriage or which job offer to accept — or what the election outcome should be.

    That doesn’t mean we will understand or even like the outcome (Isa. 55:9). It does mean that God is in control.

    †††

    WHEN THE APOSTLES PETER AND JOHN were released from prison, they reported back to the early believers that the political and religious leaders of the day had ordered them to stop preaching the Good News of salvation. 

    Immediately, the believing community raised their  arms in prayer: “Sovereign Lord, you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’”

    Their amazing prayer continued: “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.”

    After they finished, the Bible says (v. 31), “the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

    PRAYER

    O Holy and Merciful Father, we come to you in this troubled political season in our country and seek Your guidance. We ask for wisdom on what we, as Your followers, should share with fellow believers and with a fallen world hungry for Light and Truth. In the end, Lord, we know that Your Truth will prevail and that You alone are sovereign. We seek guidance that will help us navigate the coming months in a way that brings glory to You, Lord, and healing to our community. We raise this plea in Jesus’ Name. AMEN