Category: Pathway of Grace

A Season of Thanksgiving (and Persecution) Is Coming

by laurelhillumcPathway of Grace / Upcoming Event

Fall reminds us things are changing and when it involves leaves we look forward with thanks-1thanksgiving to the colorful displays those changes will bring. But, what if the changes we observe as other things fall stir up other emotions? The Psalmist asks, “If the foundations be torn down, what can the righteous do?”(Psalm 11: 3)

The Psalmist says our lives are going to be under scrutiny, our faith tested. This is not only directed at us from the world but more importantly from the Lord. Read Psalm 11. The Lord wants to prove your faith to reveal His glory and judgement in the earth.

1 Peter 4: 12-13 says, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”

Jesus was emphatic to tell us us this in John 15: 21, “They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.” We who bear the name of Christ will be persecuted in the days ahead.  Do not be surprised when the world’s ignorance, unbelief and hatred is directed towards you. Don’t react in such a way that you identify with the world more than with Christ.

What can the righteous do when the foundations are destroyed?  First, we can determine what we won’t do. We won’t live anymore for sin or to do our own will. We won’t avoid or gloss over the hard and prophetic places in the Holy Scripture. We won’t give the devil a foothold in our lives by not forgiving or holding on to bitterness. We won’t be ashamed of the absolute claims Jesus makes about Himself. Finally, we will quit talking and acting as if God’s judgment is far off.

Instead, we determine to live our lives doing the will of God, attentive to the Word of God. We will forgive just as in Christ we have been forgiven. We will be led by the Holy Spirit and walk in His comfort. If we suffer as a Christian, we are not ashamed, but praise God that we bear that name.

“For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, ‘If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?’ So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.” (1 Peter 4: 17-19)

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Framing Your Spiritual House

by laurelhillumcPathway of Grace

cornerstone Isaiah 28: 16 tells us :”So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic’.” Jesus is that cornerstone. In Acts 4: 11, the Apostle Peter says, “Jesus is  ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone’.”  Once, Jesus is the cornerstone of our lives what does our life look like?  If we are being built upon that sure foundation of Jesus, laid out by the apostles and prophets how is the structure of our life framed?

Turn to Hebrews 6 where we find this framework using the pathway of grace template. If you are not familiar with this template I direct you to read Moving at the Speed of Grace or one of our other books like More than Breathing to learn more about it.

The template for framing our lives follows this path:

  1. Laying a foundation of repentance from dead works
  2. Faith in God
  3. Instruction about baptisms
  4. Laying on of hands
  5. The resurrection of the dead
  6. Eternal judgment

Tomorrow, we’ll come back and give substance to each step in the process and Sunday, we’ll share it again. See you then!

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Weather Alert for Laurel Hill UMC!

by laurelhillumcPathway of Grace

I recall a verse from Proverbs this morning: “A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.” (Proverbs 22: 3) Let us humble ourselves before the Lord today as we heed this announcement. Because of the icy precipitation moving into and falling in our area, we are cancelling all services for today, March 1st at Laurel Hill United Methodist Church. 

Since we are not having services, please read John 5: 1 – 15 and 2nd Chronicles, chapters 29 – 32 as we think on Jesus’ words to the one who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” Did you hear Jesus? “Don’t sin anymore!”

Why do we need to stop sinning? 1. It is a command of Jesus. 2. There are consequences that follow sin that we want to avoid. 3. We were meant to live a saved and converted life.

How do we stop sinning? That’s why I want you to read those chapters in 2nd Chronicles. Hezekiah becomes king after a time of deep departure from the Lord. The temple had been shut down and closed and altars to other gods had popped up on every street corner. There had been a great falling away but the work of God in Hezekiah would change that. The pattern for revival God would demonstrate through Hezekiah’s reign for the nation is also applicable to us. These are the steps we all follow if we are to stop sinning and demonstrate the converting work of God in our lives.

1. We remove ourselves from the things that make us sin or we remove the things away from ourselves that entice us to sin.

2. We reserve ourselves for the sacrifice of worship and praise. If we force ourselves to do anything, have to act on an impulse, or obsess about anything, we make sure it is our worship of the Lord. If we’re going to look silly or make fools of ourselves we will make sure it happens, not by doing wrong, but by how over the top our worship is.

3. We rejoice at what the Lord has brought about in our lives.

4. We re-institute the formation of habits that help us be faithful to the Lord. Refresh things with the Lord whether things have fallen off or not.

5. We rely upon the Lord when the enemy threatens your prosperity. We are part of a spiritual battle. Do not make it your aim to go unscathed or be kept from the battle but keep yourselves in the Lord’s hand no matter how fierce or trying the battle is.

6. We ready ourselves to repent. Do not let pride or fear or guilt keep you from the daily revival of the Lord’s righteousness in you! Get ready to have a “spring cleaning of your soul” today and start the process over again “or something worse may happen to you.” (John 4: 14)

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Prepare Yourself for Peace

by laurelhillumcPathway of Grace

There a few places in the Bible that need no preaching to accompany them to be plainly understood. We read from one of those places yesterday: Jeremiah, chapters 6 through 8. It is there Jeremiah announces the coming judgment against Jerusalem and why it is going to occur. Read these chapters and I hope you will have eyes to see America’s days are numbered without repentance and revival. Read them and see how God calls us to peace even when there is no peace to be found in the land.

First, I want to tell you the three things that were happening that prevented peace from God from taking root in the heart of the people. Secondly, I want to share the three things the prophet reveals that declare, despite the people’s refusal, the call of God upon our lives. First, read and see the three things that keep us from peace. #1. They sinned with impunity. They thought they could do whatever they wanted and they wouldn’t suffer any consequences for it, even if they continued to do wrong. Even the spiritual leaders were bankrupt in their enjoyment of wrongdoing. #2. They made the word of God a perversity. The dictionary defines perversity as “contrary to the accepted standard or practice”. They reckoned the word of God contrary and not themselves. They made for themselves new standards, perverse standards, and called them appropriate and the new normal. #3. They didn’t take their situation seriously. Have we? For over 40 years, we have murdered millions of innocents, shed their blood, and sacrificed them for our convenience. Is there any sign of stopping? For over forty years, we have been warned about the dangers of debt and the inevitable collapse of our economy, have we corrected that? Have we taken seriously the lawlessness that is expressing itself or are we rallying for the lawbreakers? Is their a root of bitterness that divides us in the nation? Seriously, is there anyone doing anything about it? Are we pointing the finger of blame against each other? Are we locked into our own way of looking at things? The vast majority of Americans say we are going in the wrong direction as a country but where is the repentance?

Can anything be done to find peace when there is no peace? God speaks through the prophet and offers this call today. #1. Return to the ancient path. Ask for the good way and walk in it. #2. Reform your ways and your actions. Do not trust deceptive words. As Dr. Edwin Louis Cole used to teach, “Change isn’t change until it’s changed.” #3. Remember Shiloh. God’s presence given at one time in a particular place is no guarantee for perpetual favor. The people had sinned so egregiously before, God had removed his presence and the word Ichabod (the glory has departed) was written over the place. I believe if we do not seriously stop sinning and respond to God’s word in a humble and faithful way, soon the glory that was once America’s will be gone for good.

Prepare yourself to be at peace with God. We are soon coming to the time when God will not allow us to pray for America. It will be too late for prayers

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