Category Archives: General

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

The apostle Paul commanded us to give thanks in all circumstances, and “all circumstances” certainly includes this global pandemic. Have you given any thought to what you are able to sincerely thank God for during these recent months? I hope you will take some time to prayerfully consider what God has been doing in your life that would not have happened if your life had not been interrupted by COVID-19. Personal experience has taught me that you simply cannot underestimate the power of the Gratitude Attitude.

Before I go on, let me mention just how important an attitude of gratitude and thankfulness is from God’s perspective. Did you know that the Bible tells us that the failure to give thanks to God is part of the foundation upon which God’s judgment against mankind is based?

Although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:21, emphasis added)

To be sure, we are all ready, willing, and able to give thanks to God for the many temporal blessings He has bestowed on us, beginning with life itself. We are also ready, willing, and able to give thanks to God for the many spiritual blessings we have received in Christ Jesus, beginning with our salvation. But what about those blessings that come to us disguised as burdens . . . like the burden of these past few months? When was the last time you thought about thanking God for the things that make life hard and difficult?

May these words from James encourage you to adopt the Gratitude Attitude:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:3-4)

Remember, James did not say, “If you face trials,” but “When.” Trials are promised to everyone, and the only way for every burden to become a blessing—the only way to sincerely give thanks in all circumstances—is to receive life’s trials with the knowledge and assurance that God is using all of them for His glory and for your good. We must never be complaining or grumbling; this Gratitude Attitude is the character of the Christian, and it is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. When we consistently think and live in this way, we will have, by God’s grace, taken a giant step forward in becoming mature and complete in Christ, not lacking anything.

You are in my prayers and in my heart.

Purpose and Passion,

Pastor Tommy

Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you. (Job 22:21)

Many mistakenly think peace simply means the absence of war. Not true! The peace the Bible promises has nothing to do with the absence of conflict or crisis; rather, biblical peace is the presence of God with the believer, regardless of the circumstances he or she may be facing. Read on; I pray that you will be greatly encouraged today.

There is nothing in this world that can give us peace. Oh, for a time, we may think we have found some measure of peace through our prosperity or our profession or any number of pleasures. But eventually, whatever sense of peace we were experiencing gives way to unrest, simply because the things of this world cannot deliver on their promise. As I say so often here, the storms of life, whether they take the form of a virus or something quite different, will inevitably disrupt our lives. True peace—lasting peace, supernatural peace, the peace that passes all understanding—is never the absence of crisis; it is always and only found in the presence of God in Christ Jesus.

You see, the presence of Christ is untouched by the circumstances of this world. Global pandemics cannot touch it. Economic meltdowns cannot touch it. Social distancing and family separation cannot touch it. Even civil unrest and political intrigue cannot take it away. Once you have Jesus, you have a peace that transcends every test, trial, and tribulation. You have the One who endured the most terrible storm that will ever take place when He hung on a cruel cross and drank the cup of His Father’s wrath and judgment so that you and I would not have to.

If you find yourself in a place where this pandemic is testing the outer edges of your peace—“disturbing the peace,” if you will—simply shift your focus back onto your Prince of Peace and remember that He promised you that storm winds will indeed blow in this life, but that He also promised you His peace, which cannot be crushed by any crisis. “Peace I leave with you,” our Lord said; “my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

This is the truth the psalmist knew by way of personal experience, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep” (Psalm 4:8). May you and I, by God’s grace, know this truth as well.

You are in my prayers and in my heart.

Purpose and Passion,

Pastor Tommy

Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  (Matthew 7:24-26)

When our children were growing up, one of their favorite Bible songs began with the words, “The wise man built his house upon the rock.” Every student of Scripture knows that the lyric was drawn from the words of Jesus Christ in His Sermon on the Mount. In this portion of our Lord’s sermon, He was contrasting true believers from the false. Both look good on the outside, both seem to be living “good” lives, and, to the watching world, both are secure in their faith. But when the storm winds blow, the false believer is exposed, having built his or her life upon the shifting sand of good works and not upon the Rock of truth and grace.

Storm winds, such as the storm of this COVID-19 pandemic, expose our foundation. Jesus spoke of two men who heard the Word of God but responded to it differently. To build on rock is to listen to the Word of God and obey; to build on sand is to listen and forget. The one who obeyed is described as being wise; the other was foolish. This distinction may well remind us of the command given us in James 1:22-25—

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it — he will be blessed in what he does.

How is it with you? Have you been wisely building your life on the words from the solid Rock who is our Redeemer? Remember, storm winds blow upon both the wise and the foolish. The onset of the coronavirus has left no one unaffected. When it finally passes—and it will surely pass at some point in the future—what will the landscape reveal? It will reveal the difference between the wise and the foolish souls . . . those who built their lives on the Rock and those who built on the sand of self.

Remember, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). God has given us His Word—not to simply read, but to respond to. I frequently tell our congregation that the biblical text we are studying always requires our response—whether that response be praise, prayer, repentance, good deeds—we are to do, not merely hear.

What has your response been during this pandemic? What would those closest to you say about the foundation upon which you have built your life? Is it made of rock or sand? To be sure, the Word of God edifies and encourages, but it also equips us to weather any storm that comes our way. And when I say “weather,” I do not mean simply survive, but rather, we are to thrive in the storm, because we have built our entire existence upon the Rock of Jesus Christ.

You are in my prayers and in my heart.

Purpose and Passion,

Pastor Tommy

They reeled and staggered like drunkards;

they were at their wits’ end.

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

and he brought them out of their distress. (Psalm 107:27-28)

Written to celebrate the Jews’ return from their exile in Babylon, this psalm offers us many nuggets of wisdom. In our passage for today, we find sailors who had been beaten and battered by the waves of challenge out on the open sea. So serious was the storm that these sailors, who walked the rolling deck of a ship every day, now staggered across the deck like drunken men, seemingly at the mercy of the fury of the storm. And when they had tried to no avail everything they knew to save the ship and all hope was lost—when they found themselves at their wits’ end—they cried out to the Lord and He graciously delivered them.

It’s safe to say that this global pandemic has brought many of us to that place called “wits’ end” for a variety of different reasons. First, we were startled by the suddenness of the storm. This pandemic seemingly blew in out of nowhere, just as storms on the sea often do. Second, we were stunned by the strength of the storm. This pandemic shut down the entire world, something that none of us had never seen. Finally, we were subdued by the significance of the storm. COVID-19 has affected everyone in one way or another. From social distancing to stay-at-home orders to shut-downs, the coronavirus storm winds blew across the entire globe. Governments had no answers. Medical experts had no answers. The entire world arrived at its “wits’ end” all at once and all together.

The question for the Christian will always be, “How will I respond when the storm winds howl and all hope seems lost?” The witness of wits’ end is to know that God is not only in the storm with us, He sent the storm to us. Two verses prior to today’s passage, we read, “For [the Lord] spoke and stirred up a tempest” (Psalm 107:25). God is in complete control of everything that is happening at all times, and He is working all of it for our good and His glory. What we must remember whenever we find ourselves at our wits’ end is that God is working all things in our lives—even the most terrible storms—to grow and mature us in our faith.

I hope you will meditate on and marinate in these words from Peter, which, when rightly understood, will empower us to rise above every wave of challenge that washes over us:

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. (1 Peter 4:12-13)

Indeed, those sailors, who had been reeling and staggering and crying out in terror, rejoiced when the glory of God was revealed:

He stilled the storm to a whisper;

the waves of the sea were hushed.

They were glad when it grew calm,

and he guided them to their desired haven.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for men. (Psalm 107:29-31)

Let us rejoice together, you and I. Our God is seated on His throne, and His Spirit is working in our lives—in all things and at all times.

You are in my prayers and in my heart.

Purpose and Passion,

Pastor Tommy

The testing of your faith produces perseverance. (James 1:3)

One of the most comforting things I encounter when reading through sacred Scripture is to see the giants of the faith failing tests as badly as I do. I would expect these great heroes of the Bible to pass every test God sent their way with flying colors, going from strength to strength, but more often than not, they failed.

How is with you? How are you handling the test that is this COVID pandemic? Read on and be encouraged today!

If I were to read through the Bible and all I discovered were strings of unbroken victories in the lives of the saints of God, I would become extremely discouraged when looking at my own life. But when I read about Abraham, the father of the faithful, refusing to trust in the promises of God and trying to pass off his wife Sarah as his sister to save his own neck—not once but twice—I understand that our God graciously chooses to do His work in and through broken people . . . people just like me and you.

David, whom the Scripture identifies as the man after God’s own heart, stumbled badly in his walk with God on more than one occasion. He faithfully followed God, killed the giant Goliath, spared Saul’s life, secured the throne in Jerusalem, and protected Israel from all God’s enemies. But then, at a time when he should have been leading his army into battle, David stayed at home and seduced the wife of Uriah the Hittite, who was away defending Israel in the conflict that David should have been directing. David’s adultery resulted in the woman becoming pregnant, so David brought her husband Uriah back from the battle to try to encourage him to sleep with his wife to cover David’s sin. When that scheme didn’t work, David sent Uriah back to the battle, and secretly ordered that he be sent to where the battle was fiercest and abandoned there. Uriah was killed, and David took his wife to be his own.

These and countless other biblical stories of failure and brokenness are sources of great encouragement to me, not because I tried to pass off my wife as my sister or slept with another man’s wife, but because the unfaithfulness of Abraham and David represents the unfaithfulness in my own life. Every one of us goes through times when we fail a test and give in to the sins of faithlessness and disobedience. I have learned over the years that all of life is a test and a trust; God is testing us to trust Him, and He does it for the singular reason of conforming us to the image and likeness of Christ. And when we fail the test, God graciously uses that failure—not as an opportunity to punish us, but rather as a means to grow and mature us in our faith.

Always remember, Christian, that you are not held in your relationship with God because of your faithfulness to Him, but rather because of His faithfulness to us. So regardless of how faithful or how faithless you have been during this time of pandemic testing, know that your God is faithful and has promised to bring you through to the other side of it. When the waves of challenge wash over you, remember that Jesus walked on those waves and has everything in your life under His complete, sovereign control, even when things seem most out of control.

There is only One who never failed a test: His name is Jesus Christ, and one day we will be like Him . . . but not until we cross the Jordan and enter into glory.

You are in my prayers and in my heart.

Purpose and Passion,

Pastor Tommy

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

As I am ministering to people during this pandemic, it is not uncommon to hear them say, “This is getting old!” They are not speaking in the sense of chronological age or the freshness of fruit; they mean that this pandemic is “getting old” because the last three months have gone from being unexpected, to boring, to mundane, to tiring, to frustrating, to far worse for some. From continued social distancing and extended shutdowns, to wearing masks everywhere we go, we are all getting sick of this virus in one way or another. It is “getting old,” and we long for change—for something new and better. In today’s passage, we have a cure for the discouragement this virus has created—discouragement which keeps us from being all God is calling us to be.

In Christ, we are new creations. One of the most important things this means is that as we live for Christ, we live for others. We live according to the royal law of love (James 2:8) that refuses to be self-seeking (1 Corinthians 13). As new creations in Christ, we are other-oriented; we love our neighbor as we love ourselves and put the interests of others before the self. In Christ we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to shift our focus away from ourselves and keep it on Jesus vertically and others horizontally.

This is what Paul was reminding us of by starting today’s verse with the word “Therefore.” You’ve probably heard it said that whenever you see the word “Therefore” in Scripture, you should stop to see what it’s there for. In this case, Paul’s “therefore” is there to refer us back to what he had just stated in 2 Corinthians 5:14-16, where we are told that we have died with Christ and are no longer living for ourselves. This is the cure for keeping this pandemic from “getting old,” no matter how long it lasts and how old it gets.

Reminding yourself each day that you are a new creation in Christ will renew your mind, recalibrate your heart, and realign your will. It will help you shift your focus away from your circumstances and reset it to where it should be: on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Focusing on the One who lived and died and rose again for you makes everything in life new . . . even the stuff that is getting old, like this pandemic.

Regardless of the road ahead, with its unforeseen twists and turns and obstacles, we can choose to walk in the newness of life God has given us in Christ. When we do, the new creation in us will overcome the effects of this pandemic, and we will show the love and peace of Christ to a lost, broken, and hurting world that desperately needs to know Him.

Christian, He has promised you –

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)

You are in my prayers and in my heart.

Purpose and Passion,

Pastor Tommy

Be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Joshua 22:5)

If you are a fan of the iconic science fiction franchise Star Trek, which spanned 35 seasons of television totaling 774 episodes, going boldly where no man had gone before, you are familiar with the “Klingons.” They were initially antagonists to the crew of the USS Enterprise, but eventually became a close ally of the crew and of all humanity. Well, as you may have guessed, I am going to engage in some wordplay that I believe will provide a word of great encouragement for you as we walk through this pandemic.

The Lord called Moses to lead His people out of bondage in Egypt. Over the years, Moses demonstrated a walk with God that was second to none. In fact, he is the only person ever called “man of God” in the Torah—the first five books of the Old Testament. One of the men who benefited greatly from watching how Moses walked with the Lord was Joshua, who would eventually succeed Moses in leading Israel to the Promised Land.

In today’s passage, Joshua, the battle-hardened hero and sold-out leader of God’s people, had come to the point in his life where it was now his turn to turn over the reins of leadership, just as Moses had done with him years before. And so our Scripture for today provides inspired insight for walking faithfully with God, no matter what obstacles we may face: We are to hold fast—we are to “cling-on”—to God.

The unbelieving world would have us cling on to countless counterfeit gods, such as our appearance, our intellect, our status, our family name, and even our personal power and determination in order to win the day. But Joshua knew better than this. He knew what had equipped Moses to rise above the waves of challenge he faced, and he also knew what compelled him to do the same: clinging onto God with all his might and serving Him with all his heart and soul. It is only when we deliberately cling-on to God that we can overcome the obstacles we face in this life, such as distraction, disconnection, disillusionment, and discouragement.

The best way to walk through this COVID pandemic is to follow the advice of Joshua: We are to become real-life Cling-ons! We are to walk in obedience to God and cling on to Him every step of the way.

Oh, and by the way: When you feel like you might be losing your grip, fear not! He is holding you securely in His hand, and He has promised never to let you go.

You are in my prayers and in my heart.

Purpose and Passion,

Pastor Tommy

Consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds. (James 1:2)

One of the inescapable truths I have learned about change over the years is this: Nobody really likes change except a wet baby! Yet change is an unceasing, constant part of life on this earth. You can try as hard as you like to avoid it, but change will inevitably confront you and give your world a shake.

But here is a word of encouragement to keep close to you while you are living in this world of incessant change: The hard moments—moments like this season of global pandemic—will eventually pass away. One of my mom’s favorite sayings was, “This too shall pass,” and we all know that this, too, is an undeniable truth.

Whether we are facing transitions in our work environments or upheavals in our homes, we must learn to deal with change effectively. In a word, we must become resilient, which is the ability to recover quickly from change and adversity and adapt to them. If you and I are to be resilient in the face of difficulty, we must continue to rely on God. Remember that when Jesus told us to “Take heart”—even in the face of trials, troubles, and tribulations—He gave us the reason why we can take heart: because “I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).

Another truth that will help us face the onslaught of challenging change is the knowledge that God’s greatest goal for us is Christlikeness. God is using every bit of this life—everything that happens to us and around us—to that end. Let me ask you this question: Looking back on your life, did you grow closer to God when the sky was blue and the sun shining brightly . . . or when storm winds blew your way? I have always grown closer to God during seasons of storms. Why? Because resilience is the right response of the redeemed. The Bible continually tells us to press on and persevere, regardless of the circumstances we are facing, and Scripture has provided us with a powerful exhortation: Fall seven times, get up eight (Proverbs 24:16).

Joseph was resilient. Moses was resilient. Esther was resilient. Peter and Paul were resilient. And who doesn’t marvel at the resilience and right response of Job? But remember, Christian, what the enemy of resilience is: an incorrect understanding of what God is doing. Often, we do not know what God is doing in a certain set of circumstances. Yes, we know the ultimate end, but in the moment things can seem capricious or even chaotic. During such times we must remember to “lean not on our own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). God can see the beginning from the end, and He has everything in complete control. We must simply trust our God with all our heart, even when we cannot trace him.

Job, faced with an unimaginably crushing weight of grief and despair after losing all of his children, his wealth, and his health in one devastating series of disasters, cried out to God in his sorrow and confusion. But he also held fast to this truth:

I know that my Redeemer lives,

and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.

And after my skin has been destroyed,

yet in my flesh I will see God;

I myself will see him

with my own eyes — I, and not another.

How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25-27)

This is the right response of the resilient.

You are in my prayers and in my heart.

Purpose and Passion,

Pastor Tommy

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (Psalm 42:5)

David wrote this psalm when he was on the run from his enemies and his circumstances looked bleak. His enemies despised God and oppressed God’s people—including David, who could not participate in corporate worship at the time.

Can I get a witness? We are all experiencing this gloomy feeling of oppression and isolation to a certain extent at present. But let us follow David’s example: Instead of being crushed under the weight of his circumstances, David rose above them by shifting his focus back to God.

David could have been in a state of deep despair and depression if he had let the circumstances he was facing get the best of him. But he did not. He started talking to himself about his God. It seems to me that in his self-talk, David’s faith was confronting David’s fears. This attitude of worship is the Almighty Antidepressant, and when we apply this kind of self-talk ourselves, our faith will always win out over fear.

Notice that David’s words were directed to himself, not toward his circumstances. David’s hope was the antidote for his hurts. Charles Spurgeon is widely known as “the prince of preachers” for his beautifully articulate and inspiring expositions of the Word of God. What is less known about him is that this great man of God struggled with deep, almost debilitating depression for much of his life. Spurgeon wrote, “Every man is two men; we are duplicates; and it is well sometimes to hold a dialogue with one’s own self. ‘Why are you downcast, O my soul?’ I always notice that as long as I can argue with myself about my depression, I can get out of them. But when both the men within me go down at once, it is a downfall indeed.”

David clearly understood the need to “hold a dialogue with one’s own self” during times of difficulty and discouragement. And when David reminded himself to “Put your hope in God,” he was not using the word hope as the world does. David’s hope was not some nebulous wishful thinking, as in “I hope it doesn’t rain on the Fourth of July.” Biblical hope is the confident assurance of a promised future.

I have said here before that we can go weeks without food, days without water, and minutes without air, but we cannot go one moment without hope. David knew that God is faithful, and that to hope in God is to rest in the expectation that God will always cause everything—even the bad and difficult things in life—to work together for the good of those who love God. That is the truth we all must cling to, especially during distressing seasons like this global pandemic. If you find yourself feeling a bit downcast or disturbed during this time of social distancing, remember to look up and put your hope in God. He will never let you down, and you will yet praise your Savior and your God. That is the Almighty Antidepressant, and this hope is, as the author of Hebrews wrote, “an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:19).

You are in my prayers and in my heart.

Purpose and Passion,

Pastor Tommy

I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18 ESV)

No matter how long this global pandemic lasts and no matter how many lives it ultimately claims, we can be sure of one thing: COVID-19 cannot and shall not prevail against the church of Jesus Christ. Read on and be encouraged today!

When Jesus said, “The gates of hell shall not prevail” (Matthew 16:18), He was making it perfectly clear that nothing can stand in the way of the advancement of His church. In the ancient world, the first point of attack for an invading army was at the city gates. If the gates could be breached, it would not be long before the city would fall into the hands of the enemy. Thus the city would rise or fall based on the strength and security of its gates.

After telling Peter and the disciples that “The gates of hell shall not prevail,” Jesus began to speak of His death and resurrection. And when Jesus rose from the dead, He became the death of death, and He smashed through the gates of hell that tried to hold Him in their deadly grip.

The greatest enemy of mankind since Adam’s fall in the Garden is death. But when Jesus walked out of the tomb, death died. Death is not master over Jesus (Romans 6:9), and it is no longer master over His people. Even if we were to contract the coronavirus and die, the gates of hell cannot prevail against us. They are not strong enough to hold anyone who is in Christ.

Of course, no one wants to die during this pandemic, and every loss of life is a bitter tragedy. Yet we Christians need not fear, because greater is the power that is in us than any power that can come against us. No matter what happens during this pandemic, and any other pandemic that follows, nothing can stand in the way of the church of God advancing the cause of the Kingdom of Christ. In fact, as I have said here before, this global pandemic is merely an instrument of salvation and sanctification in the hands of the Almighty.

May these words of our Lord, recorded in John 14:19, be forever etched upon your heart: “Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.”

You are in my prayers and in my heart.

Purpose and Passion,

Pastor Tommy