DON’T TAKE THE BAIT

On Monday, as I gazed out my window hoping to see a deer or two in the field, I saw one. Between the two fields behind the church, there is a stand of trees with a mound in the middle. Right on top of the mound was a decent sized deer. It was eating from what I assume to be a bait pile. It looked up occasionally, but mostly had its head down eating. Though I didn’t see any hunters in the field that day, that deer was an easy target from either the North or the South. It had taken the bait!

I wonder if that deer had any idea of the danger it could have been in. I know of two deer that were harvested from that land less than a week earlier, and there have been hunters in the area since then. Yet, the deer probably found the food source irresistible. I’m guessing that deer lived to see another day, but it could have easily landed in someone’s freezer or dinner table.

That brought to mind several passages about temptation:

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1Peter 5:8 ESV)

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7 ESV)

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26:41 ESV)

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1Corinthians 10:13 ESV)

When temptation comes, and it will, I pray that we don’t act like the deer … despite the inherent danger deciding to yield to the temptation. Instead, the instant you see the temptation, run, flee, do what ever is necessary to get yourself out of that situation before it’s too late … and don’t look back. Get to safety and pray for help! God will deliver. But, the best advice is to not allow yourself to be in that position ever again. Satan is an expert tempter, but what ever you do, DON’T TAKE THE BAIT!

In His grip,
Pastor Decker

FRIENDS OF ISRAEL

I wrote the following before I knew that Pat Neff was not going to be able to make it to Dayton Center Church. I'm sure he would appreciate our prayers. Nonetheless, here's what I wrote for our bulletin:

Have you ever noticed how Israel is almost constantly in the news. The last few headlines I have seen involve the Israel’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear program and the violence in Gaza. It’s not uncommon to see the name, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, on Google News. And, hopefully, by now, we know the difference between Hamas (the Islamic group that governs the Gaza Strip) and hummus (made from chickpeas). Then, there was the US’ funding cut when Palestine was granted membership in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It may be challenging to make sense of it all, but it should not be surprising. Throughout history, the world has, by and large, been against Israel, and will continue to be until Christ establishes His millennial reign.

Today, we are privileged to have Bob Burkhardt’s brother, Pat Neff, ministering to us in the Word and sharing about Friends of Israel. Throughout his ministry, Bob has given us updates and prayer requests, but today we get to hear it all first hand.

If you are not familiar with Friends of Israel, here’s a short history from their website (http://www.foi.org/ourhistory):

The Friends of Israel was founded in 1938 by Christian leaders in response to the desperate needs of Jewish people afflicted by the raging torrents of Nazi hate.  Through this Christian ministry, funds were raised and aid was distributed to Jewish refugees in their darkest hours of need. Today, The Friends of Israel is an important evangelical Christian voice in opposing anti-Semitism, explaining the unique, biblical role of Israel in God’s plan and encouraging Christians to pray for Israel and support her biblical, historical, and moral rights to live within secure borders.

In His grip,
Pastor Decker

IMPERFECT, BUT ACCEPTED

On Wednesday afternoon, I had quite a view out my study window. For one, there was unique cloud movement. It seemed that the clouds were coming from every angle and converging toward the North. I had also seen a deer running around in the distance, toward the tree line. And, then, to my surprise, I saw a buck about twenty feet into the grass behind the church. He was a two-pointer, but only because one of his antlers was missing. After a few minutes, I saw why he was there when a doe popped up from the tall grass. Part of me wonders if she thought him goofy-looking, only having one antler. But, despite his flaws, the doe accepted him. Eventually the couple ran off to the tree line, but it was neat to see them so close.

As I pondered what to write, that buck’s imperfection struck a chord. It really is amazing grace that God looks at us with all our imperfection and sin, and chooses to love us anyway. He not only accepts us, He made the ultimate sacrifice for us. Consider the significance of Romans 5:8-10:

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. (Rom 5:8-10 ESV)

We were much worse off than that one-antlered deer—we had caused a seemingly un-reconcilable offense. At very least, we were powerless to set it right. But, then, “... Christ … suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit...”(1Peter 3:18 ESV)

Praise God, that imperfect though we be, we are loved, accepted and forgiven through the blood of Christ. Thank you God, for your grace and mercy!

In His grip,
Pastor Decker

THE HARVEST

The other night, I was flipping through the channels and landed on one of my favorites … the History Channel. I wasn’t finding much else to watch, so I started watching a show called “Harvest.” Having grown up in farming country and being surrounded by fields now, I’m not sure why it caught my attention, but I’m glad it did. It’s not that I’m likely to start watching the show. In fact, that may have been the last episode.

What caught my attention was their urgency. The various harvest crews were near the end of their season, and they were each in a hurry to finish the job for their own reasons: to get home, to finish the job before the crop got too dry, or to finish the job so they could harvest their own crops. At any rate, they pushed hard and finished the work.

Their urgency in finishing the Harvest reminded me of Jesus’ urgency about another type of harvest … that of souls:

Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. (John 4:35 ESV)

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." (Matthew 9:36-38 ESV)

Now, I have a few questions that we all ought to consider:
~Are our eyes open to see the harvest all around us, as Jesus did?
~Are we ready and willing to do our part, or are we content to sit back and watch it (like a TV show)?
~Do we sense just how urgent the work of the Harvest is?

I hope we catch that sense of urgency and act on it. As 1 Thessalonians 5:2 says, “...you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." (ESV) So, let’s tend to the harvest, heeding the words of Christ!

In His grip,
Pastor Decker