"I will seek You in the morning . . ."

I love that verse in the Gospel of Mark where it says that Jesus got up early each morning and went to a quiet, secluded place where He would pray. [Ever wonder what HE asked for from the Father? I think the prayer recorded in John 17 may give us some insights]. Anyway, this verse [Mark 1;35] reminds me of an old gospel song that was written 101 years ago [March , 1912], when a music publisher asked C. Austin Miles to write a hymn text [and tune] that would give "hope to the hopeless" and "rest for the weary." Here are the words to the first stanza and refrain. [I suspect many of you will recognize the song]:

I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses;

And the voice I hear, falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,

And He tells me I am His own.

And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.

I've been thinking about that song today, especially earlier this morning when I loaded Sadie into my car and we headed about three miles north to Lake Wanahoo. I have been taking advantage of the beautiful summer weather we have been enjoying here in eastern Nebraska the last couple of weeks. Sadie and I have been doing this routine every weekday morning. We like walking along the west side of the lake - where the campgrounds are located. Usually almost all of the campsites are unoccupied, so I will often let Sadie off-leash as we walk along the lakeside [serenaded occasionally by the croaking of a bullfrog or two].

Sometimes, I am reminded how the Lord graced Win and me with the incredible privilege of visiting Israel three times from 1998-2009. One of our favorite places on each trip has been our overnight stay in Tiberius, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Each time we have been there we have awakened long before dawn the next morning and walked down to the water's edge to watch a few fishermen coming in with their catch of the day, and to see the sun rise over the Golan Heights on the eastern side of the lake. So, it is easy for me, while Sadie and I are walking along the shore of Lake Wanahoo, and watching the sun rise in the eastern Nebraska sky, to imagine Jesus on His early morning walks along the Galilee - perhaps on the northern shore in Capernaum [another place Win and I visited], where Peter and Andrew lived. 

My walk is a prayer walk. Every day I pray for everyone who worships with us at New Hope Bible Church - and for just about everyone else I know in Wahoo, Nebraska. [Of course, I pray for my Bride, our boys, and our extended family, as well as all of our dear friends all over the world]. It is such a cleansing, refreshing, spiritually-invigorating time. [I highly recommend it . . . and, by the way -so does Jesus]. :-)

This past Sunday I began a series of sermons on  the life of King Hezekiah - the seventh of eight good kings in Judah during the period of the "divided" kingdom. [The prophet Isaiah was one of Hezekiah's contemporaries]. This coming Sunday we will continue our study of the "wholehearted" way in which Hezekiah "sought the Lord" [i.e. His WORSHIP of the Lord]. Then, Lord willing, next week we will focus our attention on how he "served the Lord" [i.e., His WORK for the Lord]. And, by the way, we will discover that when it came to His work for the Lord, Hezekiah definitely had something in common with Jesus . . . and, dare I say it? Also, with ME! [Hint: It has something to do with when one awakes in the morning!]. Last Sunday's message 8.21.13]  has already been uploaded, and can be found at http://sermon.net/PastorJoeLombardi.

Running my race with all my heart,

Joe "PJ" Lombardi

August 22, 2013

My "Sadie" girl - w/UNL "Cornhusker" Bandana
@ Lake Wanahoo, NE on 8-21-2013

No other Gods but God, the Three-in-One: Yahweh, Yeshua and the Holy Spirit!

[http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/chaplain-ordered-to-remove-religious-essay-from-military-website.html ]

Please copy and paste the above link into your browser to read the article referred to in the following post.

The intent of the first amendment was NOT to separate the "state" from God! The "God" referenced in the Declaration of Independence is the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He has a personal name. It is "YHWH" [Yahweh]. He has a Son. His name is YESHUA [Jesus, who is the Messiah]. This is the God referenced in the pledge of allegiance. This is the God in Whom we trust. This is the God who created us with the "rights" catalogued in the Declaration of Independence. This is the God our early leaders worshipped. He is God ALONE. He has spoken without a stutter when He commanded His people NOT to have any other god besides Him. As an American and as a worshipper of YHWH, and a follower of His Son, Jesus, I am not only offended but also appalled at the action taken by this base commander. I applaud this chaplain, and others like him, who have the courage to minister the "Good Message" of life [the Gospel of everlasting life by grace alone, through faith alone, IN CHRIST ALONE!].  As my seminary professor, Dr. Howard Hendricks, used to say, "May his tribe increase!"

Chaplain Ordered to Remove Religious Essay From Military Website

radio.foxnews.com

The Church with Something Missing , , ,

       There are many people in the world today who outwardly appear to have it all. But, inwardly, they would admit that there is something missing. I suspect that most of us know individuals like that.

        But, did you also know that there are churches like that? Oh, externally, they may look great. I mean, they may have beautifully landscaped property with a “state of the art” facility. Indeed, many of them are known for their buildings, bodies and bucks. But, internally, they are dead. O, they have plenty of style, but no substance; lots of programs, but no power. Outwardly they are full of activity. Inwardly, they are void of spiritual vitality. There is something missing…

        In our sermon text yesterday [Revelation 3:1-6] @ New Hope Bible Church we discovered a message from the Lord that was sent to a church just like that. It was located in the first century city of Sardis. Externally it looked great, but internally it was dead. There was definitely something missing … 

        Jesus, the Great Physician and spiritual diagnostician had some strong words for this church. For example, He said to them, “I have not found your works perfect before God.” In this context the word translated “perfect” might be better rendered “complete.” In other words, He told them, “You haven’t finished what you have begun. You haven’t completed what you have started”. In essence, He said, “Church, you have had many beginnings; but few, if any endings. There are so many unfinished projects and aborted efforts. You have only gone ‘half-way’” – which, by the way, is what the word “mediocre” literally means. (You see, theirs was ministry of mediocrity. Everything they did was only “half done.” Their walk was half-baked, their witness half-cooked, their work half-finished and their worship half-hearted).

      He further rebuked them, “Your deeds have not been completed. In fact, in many cases, you have allowed your ministry to be aborted. You began as a living organism; now you’re nothing more than a dying organization. Once you were a movement that brought me glory. Now you’re just a monument that causes Me shame. What began through My divine inspiration has become nothing more than a human institution. There is something missing!”
     
        That, in essence, was the problem with the church at Sardis. It suffered from institutional dry rot. How did it happen? And how can we keep it from happening to the church-gathered here in Wahoo?

        I think that there are several steps that lead downward to spiritual sterility in a church. Let me quickly identify some of them for you, as I have often observed them over thirty years of pastoral ministry. My list is not exhaustive, but suggestive. For example, I think a church takes a step downward toward spiritual sterility when it becomes more concerned with . . .

        - The past than it is with the future
        - With its preservation than with its propagation
        - With its programs than with its people
        - With its affluence than its influence
        - With its reputation than its responsibility
        - With external conformity than with internal change

        Which begs the question: Can a church ever recover from its spiritual sterility and regain spiritual vitality? I believe so. Ponder the following insightful words write by the Methodist minister and devotional author E.M. Bounds in his classic little book titled Power through Prayer:  “What the church needs today is not more machinery or better,  nor new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use.”

        You see, there really is something missing: Holy Spirit filled, controlled, enlightened and empowered people. And that is why J. Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland Mission also wrote,

Today the Holy Spirit is as truly available and as mighty in power, as He was on the day of Pentecost.  But since the days before Pentecost, has the whole church ever put aside every other work and waited upon God for ten days that His power might be manifested? We have given too much attention to method, and to machinery, and to resources, and too little to the source of power.

         So, what are we supposed to do? Well, the Apostle Paul said, in Ephesians 6:18, “Be filled with the Spirit.” Or, more literally, “Keep on being filled with the Spirit.” Day by day. Hour by hour. Moment by moment. Be filled with the Spirit. Walk by the Spirit. Be led by the Spirit. Never grieve the Spirit. Never quench the Spirit. “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

          Here is how it is stated in an old Gospel song that I haven’t heard in years . . .

To be used of God, to sing, to speak, to pray.

To be used of God, to show someone the way.

Oh, how I long to feel the touch of His consuming fire.

To be used of God, is my desire!

         And, yes, that is MY desire . . . I wonder, I hope, I pray that it might be yours, too!

Pastor Joe [PJ] Lombardi

[By the way, you may listen to yesterday’s message at http://sermon.net/PastorJoeLombardi ]

Only HOLD ON to What You Have!

Good Morning, Fellow Bloggers!

This post is my second attempt at writing to you today. The first one ended as I had just completed a rather "substantial" piece in Microsoft Word . . . which crashed. The "autosave" did not auto save, so I lost the entire document. [Now, why did the Lord let that happen? I thought it was pretty good. Perhaps the Lord had a different evaluation]. I was ready to "throw in the towel," reasoning, "this is my day off, I am not feeling well, I deserve a break today," etc., etc. [No one else ever comes to my pity parties, so, I usually recover rather quickly].

Besides, my day started very early this morning . . . well before the sun came up. [It's now close to noon, and I am still not sure it ever did come up]. I had set my alarm for my usual wake-up time, so I could check out the weather forecast on 1011 news. It was worse than I thought it was going to be. Due to a very dense fog [that, so far, has hung around all morning], the visibility was down to about a quarter mile, and in some places, almost down to zero. I told Win that I would be happy to take her to work today in downtown Lincoln, and return to bring her home later in the afternoon. We left earlier than normal, and arrived at the junction of 77 and the I-80 with plenty of extra time. Since neither one of us had eaten breakfast, I asked Win if she would like to stop at Cracker Barrel first. She was "all over it!" When we pulled up to the restaurant, however, we were immediately aware of the fact that our vehicle was the only one in the entire parking lot. We weren't even sure it was open. But we soon discovered, much to our delight, that it was indeed open, and that we the only patrons in the entire place. We had the entire center dining room all to ourselves - our table located up close to a wonderful roaring fire in their massive stone fireplace. After breakfast, while enjoying the sounds of snap, crackle and pop emanating from the scorched wood in the fireplace, and slowly sipping a fresh, hot refill of coffee, the Lord brought a phrase to mind that I had not thought of in some time. It was one of the favorite sayings of one of my favorite profs at Dallas Theological Seminary, Dr. Howie Hendricks. If I've heard him say it once, I have actually probably heard him say it a dozen times or more: "If there is a mist in the pulpit, there will probably be a fog in the pew." I.e., if the preacher has an unclear message, then the people will not have a clue what action to take, or what direction to go. They will be metaphorically, as we were literally earlier this morning, in a deep, dark, dense fog.

As I rehearsed those thoughts on my way home this morning, I could not help but think: That was essentially a huge part of the problem in the first-century church gathered in the city of Thyatira - the fourth church of seven that were addressed by our Lord in His seven letters to seven churches in seven cities, and recorded for us by the Apostle John in Revelation 2-3. The Thyatiran Christians had a huge problem in their pulpit. Basically, it had been usurped by a woman who was a self-proclaimed spokesperson for God. She actually referred to herself as a "prophetess."  But, because she was so wicked, Jesus nick-named her "Jezebel." It was not [nor has it ever been since then] a very flattering name for a woman - but it was very accurate and appropriate. She insisted that she had received personal, direct messages from God that would enable her followers to go "deeper" with God. But Jesus made it clear that she was only leading her followers down a dangerous, deadly path by knowing "the depths of Satan" [Rev. 2:24]. In order to combat this false teacher and her reprehensible teaching, Jesus strongly admonished the faithful believers in that church, "But hold fast what you have till I come" [Rev. 2:25]. I believe that is His Word to us today well.

So, WHAT did they have? And, what do we have? The Bible is very clear. The Apostle Paul told his young protege, Timothy, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and become convinced of . . . how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3: 14-17). “Timothy,” he said, “what you have heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching” (2 Timothy 1: 13). And, “do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). ONLY HOLD ON TO WHAT YOU HAVE!

In the words of a Sunday School song that Win and I both learned when we were children, and then passed on to our sons when they were young: "The B-I-B-L-E, yes, that's the Book for me. I stand alone on the Word of God, the B-I-B-L-E!"

Listen, my dear blogging friends: God never intended for His church to exist in some sort of mystical fog. He has revealed His will CLEARLY in His Word. He has spoken, and He has not stuttered [That may be another Hendricks phrase, I think]. I believe with all my heart that the best way to loosen the vice-like grip that this satanic deception has ON the church, is through sound doctrine which comes through careful, prayerful, thoughtful Biblical exposition IN the church.

If you are interested, you can listen to the sermon "I've a Message from the Lord" [an exposition of Rev. 2:18-29] online at http://sermon.net/PastorJoeLombardi.

Have a BLESSED day and HOLD ON to what you have!

His grace STILL amazes me,

Joe [Bro Joe, Pastor Joe, Pasta Joe, PJ, Mr. L, etc., etc.]

A "Churchy" World and a "Worldly" Church

"IN the world, BUT not OF the world" - that is how the church of Jesus Christ is often described. But, that is not necessarily how things always are.

Yesterday @ New Hope Bible Church, in our ongoing study of the "seven letters to the seven churches" in Revelation 2-3, we learned that the church located in the first century city of Pergamos [Revelation 2:12-17] had fallen prey to Satan's strategy of "covert infiltration." As a result, many Bible commentators today refer to her as "the compromising church." She struggled not so much because she was "in the world," but because the world was in her! And just how did that happen?

Yesterday we learned that Satan has a two-fold plan. We called it his "Trojan Horse Strategy." Basically, his goal is to encourage a "churchy" world, and at the same time to tempt churches to compromise their beliefs and their mission so that they become "worldly" churches.

So, what is the church of Jesus Christ to do? I told our folks that we need to remember that if New Hope Bible Church is going to "make it" in the WORLD, then we also better be in the WORD! Especially in these "last days" in our culture, when our enemy has been waging not so much a "frontal assault" but a "sneak attack." [To be sure, there are signs his strategy may be changing with respect to the American church].

The bottom line? We need to beware and we need to be ready today more than ever! In the words of the Apostle Paul, we need to arm ourselves with the "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" [Ephesians 6:17]. We need to be ever so vigilant, and we must pray that we will not succumb to Satan's seductive and deceptive "siren song" to become like the world. Twenty-five years ago my Pastor, Ted Harmon, who was the Senior Pastor at the church where I served as the Youth Pastor [and where Win and I were married], taught us a chorus that I have never forgotten:

In the name of Jesus, In the name of Jesus,

 We have the victory!

In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, 

Satan will have to flee.

In the name of Jesus, Jesus, 

Who on earth can stand before?

In the name of Jesus, Jesus, we have the victory!

You may listen to the message "Satan's Trojan Horse Strategy" online at http://sermon.net/PastorJoeLombardi

Praising God for victory in Jesus,

PJ

It Will Be Worth It All

Good Monday, Fellow Bloggers!

Okay, it WAS cold here in eastern Nebraska this morning. For some reason my dog, Sadie, wanted outside about 2:30 a.m.. On such occasions I might be reminded by my "better half" that "Sadie IS YOUR dog!" But not today . . . My partner didn't even stir the slightest. So, out we went, my Sadie and I. I am quite sure the temperature was near zero. But, for some reason, as I write this blog, I am getting the distinct feeling that there may not be anyone even thinking about extending any sympathy to me for the way I had to suffer today.

Surely, my so-called "suffering" this morning was nothing compared to the brutal and sometimes fatal mistreatment experienced by the believers living near the end of the first century A.D., in the city of Smyrna, a commercial and financial center located in what would be known today as eastern Turkey. Her citizens were among the first in the entire Roman empire to embrace the cult of Emperor worship and to erect a temple for that purpose. Once a year everyone in the city was required to say "Kaiser kurios" ["Caesar is Lord"]. Faithful followers of Christ refused to give in to the demand. As a result, they were ostracized from society. Skilled workmen were denied membership in the trade guilds. Some were tortured in the most unimaginable and excruciatingly painful ways - often to the point of death. Somehow it seems so appropriate for the city name, Smyrna, to have the word "myrrh" as its linguistic root. For in order for the hardened resin of the commifora tree to emit is full fragrance, it would have to be crushed, beaten and pulverized - just like the Christ followers in that city were crushed and beaten and pulverized by wave after wave of persecution around A.D. 95. For the most part it was instigated by the cruel, egotistical and tyrannical emperor, Domitian, who even insisted that he be addressed as the "Lord God Domitian."

Yesterday at New Hope Bible Church, we studied the second letter of seven letters transcribed for us by the Apostle John, in Revelation 2-3. John was also the mentor of the pastor of the church at Smyrna, Polycarp, who was eventually killed for his faith in Christ and his ministry for Christ. We learned that the church at Smyrna faced intense poverty and persecution. The resurrected and exalted Christ challenged them to remain fear-LESS and faith-FUL, reminding them that ultimately it would be worth it all.

The Apostle Paul wrote these words to his protege, Timothy, "...everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" [2 Timothy 3:12]. Apparently, suffering for our Lord is NOT an elective. Rather, it is a required course in God's school of faith and character building. Perhaps that is why the Apostle Peter also wrote, "Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering. . . but rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed" [1 Peter 4:12-13]. No, it is not an easy course. But through it all we may [and must] rely on the counsel and consolation of Christ! So, to my fellow believers in Jesus I say, "be fearLESS and faithFUL!" Because, as the Apostle Paul wrote, "I consider that our present suffering are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" [Romans 8:18].

By the way . . . you can listen to yesterday's sermon online at: http://sermon.net/PastorJoeLombardi . You can also leave a comment right there online. And, please remember: Go ahead and share this link with someone else. We have no idea how the Lord may use this message to bring help, hope, peace and perspective to someone else!

Now, please remember - no matter whatever the Lord may allow to come your way in the coming days- that ultimately His purpose is to do something IN you [to "refine" you], and His plan is then to do something FOR you [to "reward" you with the "crown of life"].

So, in the words of one of my all-time favorite gospel songs . . .

It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus.

Life's trials will seem so small, when we see Christ!

One glimpse of His dear face, all sorrow will erase.

So, bravely run the race - 'til we see Christ!

STILL amazed by His grace,

PJ

--
Joe Lombardi, Pastor
NEW HOPE BIBLE CHURCH