Tuesday, March 31, 2015

April 1, 2015

"For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,  and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”  I Corinthians 11:22-24

Have you ever been betrayed by a friend?

You probably have but in case you haven't, trust me, it hurts!

Being betrayed is something you don't easily forget, neither the act nor the hurt. That is why I find it interesting St. Paul refers to the night of the Last Supper as "the night Jesus was betrayed". There were other very significant things that happened that evening but Paul marks the event by the betrayal.

In fact, there were two betrayals during that night. Judas betrayed Him with a kiss and Peter betrayed Him with a curse(s). Judas sold Him out for personal profit and Peter denied Him for personal protection.

Let me ask you, have you betrayed Jesus?

Have you denied Him? 

Have you sold Him out?

What did you do to the person who betrayed you?

How did you handle that pain?

Here's what Jesus did, He died for them AND for you! 

He took your pain, your shame, your sin and your failure - on the day AFTER He was betrayed.

What should you do?

Monday, March 30, 2015

March 31, 2015

"But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our  preaching is useless and so is your faith.  More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.  For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.  But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep."  I Corinthians 15:13-20

Here are a few of my favorite promises from the Bible:

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." I Corinthians 10:13

"I can do all this through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13

"And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." I John 1:7-9

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5


"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38


"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." I John 5:14-15

You probably love these promises, too! No doubt you have some of them memorized. And for a good reason - there is tremendous power in those promises!

But here is the point of this thought this morning, all of these promises are true and reliable for one reason - THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST!

He promised to rise again on the third day after His death and He did! Had He not kept that promise none of the others would be believable. The very power that raised Jesus from the dead is the power that fulfills His promises!

Easter is a promise kept that assures all the others will be too!

He promised!

Sunday, March 29, 2015

March 30, 2015

"And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep"..........."When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? "Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." I Cor. 15:14-20 & 54-58

Life is about figuring out what matters and what doesn't. The sooner you figure that out the better your life will be. Some never figure it out.

Usually, you figure out what matters through being told what matters by someone who matters a lot to you. Most often you are taught what matters by your parents because they matter most to you and you learn to value what they value. Over time, as you mature, you begin to develop your own value system to determine what matters most to you.

If you are a Christian you must ultimately develop your value system according to the truths and people who are recorded in the Bible. When you decide that Biblical values will matter more to you than material or temporal or cultural values you will begin to experience some push-back and that pressure forces you to regularly examine and evaluate what matters to you. That can be a healthy process! Perhaps you are in that process right now.

So, what matters most to you? What should matter to you is what matters to God since pleasing Him should matter most to you. In this message to the Christians at Corinth, Paul states clearly and confidently that what matters most is the resurrection of Jesus Christ!

That is why Easter is such a big deal! Easter is a big deal because the resurrection IS THE DEAL! Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, He was a liar, because He promised His disciples that He would return from the dead. Without the resurrection, God is a failure, because His plan for redeeming the human race depended on His Son dying and then rising from the grave. And, as Paul says his preaching is useless, as is your faith, and we are fools or liars, we are trapped in our sins, and we have no hope in life or at death if Jesus did not die for you and me and if He did not arise from the dead.

Without the resurrection of Jesus, nothing matters. With the resurrection, every promise in the Bible matters! Without the resurrection the Bible is a fable and the Old Testament Prophets are fools. With the resurrection, God has proven He has power over sin and death! His power matters! With the resurrection we have the hope of our own resurrection! That matters! God made sure the resurrection matters because He wants you to know how much you matter to Him!

Jesus' resurrection matters because it is the heart of the matter!

Will you bow before the Father and thank Him for the Resurrection of Jesus? Will you stand up and rejoice that you serve a Risen Savior? Will you go to your church Sunday and worship for all you're worth? Will you worship like it matters? Worship matters because He matters. And He matters because of His resurrection!

HE'S ALIVE! HE HAS RISEN AS HE SAID!

March 29, 2015

When you want to express the inexpressible, look to a poet. It doesn’t take you long to run out of adjectives when you begin trying to describe the amazing infinite love of God. Nearly 100 years ago, a gentleman by the name of Frederick Martin Lehman penned this poem that was later put to music in a hymn called appropriately – “The Love of God”.

I think he captures it pretty well! See what you think.



The love of God is greater far, Than tongue or pen can ever tell.
It goes beyond the highest star, And reaches to the lowest hell.
The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled, And pardoned from his sin.


O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure  The saints' and angels' song.


When age and time shall pass away, And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;

When men who here refuse to pray, On rocks and hills and mountains call;

God's love, so sure, shall still endure, All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam's race — The saints' and angels' song.

O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure  The saints' and angels' song.


Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made;


Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade;


To write the love of God above, Would drain the ocean dry;


Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Though stretched from sky to sky.


O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure  The saints' and angels' song.


WOW! What incredible love!

It takes an amazing God to love like this!


It took amazing grace for God to demonstrate His love through Christ!


And it to know this love you must run the bases according to His pattern. That is the blessing of the Home Run life!

Friday, March 27, 2015

March 28, 2015

The Apostle Paul testifies why he keeps running as he rounds third and heads for the plate.

He is in the game for the right reasons.

He runs according to God’s pattern for the right reasons.

He runs to win for the following reasons found in II Corinthians 5.

HE IS CONVINCED OF ETERNAL LIFE, Vv. 15-19

“15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”

Touching the bases matters for eternity!

Are you running according to God’s pattern?

Are you running with conviction?

HE IS COMPELLED BY THE LOVE OF GOD, V. 14

“14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.

Apostle Paul was compelled by love!

“COMPELLED” does not equal being “emotionally moved by my desire”

“COMPELLED” equals being “freed from control of sin and controlled, imprisoned by God’s love.”

The same word Paul used for compelled is the same word used when Christ was arrested and led away from the garden. Jesus was compelled to suffer and die on the cross because of the will and purpose of God.

What compels you?

Are you compelled by the love of Christ?

HE IS COMMITTED AS AN AMBASSADOR, Vv. 18-20

18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 

What is an ambassador?

An ambassador represents a nation or a kingdom in another land for the purpose of creating good relations between them.

Paul was committed and compelled to represent the Gospel of eternal life to an unbelieving world. He was committed because he was convinced and compelled by God’s love for lost people.

You are representing God and His gospel every day. Are you committed to do it well?


Will anyone be drawn to faith in Christ by the way you represent Him today?

March 27, 2015

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2

Like kids, churches are cute when they are little. You almost wish they could stay little and cute. But you want them to be healthy and when they are healthy they will grow. You don’t want unhealthy kids or unhealthy churches because even though they get expensive when they grow it costs a lot more when they are not healthy.

At FredWes we have valued spiritual health believing that it will lead to growth. We are seeing that develop. During the 40 Day Emphasis we are getting a new vision of what spiritual health looks like. It looks like running the bases in the proper order during a game of baseball.

There is a pattern to running the bases if you want to score and win. You can’t run the bases backwards and hope to win.

Home plate is the connection base. It is at home where you connect with God to enjoy His presence, to gain His power and find His purpose. Nothing happens until you connect with God by faith at home plate.

A healthy church is populated by people who connect well at home plate.  A healthy church points people to home plate and promotes healthy connections with Christ. When you have considerably more people who are connected with God at home plate than those who aren’t you have the makings of a healthy church.

First base is the character development base. Connecting with God at home gets you right with God but then God wants to get you thinking right, believing right, deciding right and doing right. A healthy church understands the importance of first base and challenges people to spend time there. When a church has a significant number of its people who understand the value of and place a priority on character development that church has a chance to be healthy.

Home plate is where healthy churches win with God. First base is where healthy churches win within. And that brings the focus to second base.

Second base is the community base. A healthy church develops good community as a result of its people connecting at home and at first. Learning to love God passionately and love self properly leads to loving others powerfully. Healthy churches are filled with people who know how win with others.

Third base is the competency base where the results of loving God and loving self and loving others brings results. Third base is where you turn to head home, getting people to third is vital. Healthy churches grow at third base but they grow at third as a result of healthy things that are happening at home and first and second!

Healthy people produce healthy churches and God uses healthy churches to produce more healthy people!

Healthy churches produce healthy people because they play by God’s pattern. The order of the bases is vitally important! Getting God at home plate, growing in God at first base, glorifying God at second, and gaining for God at third base are what healthy churches are made of.

A healthy church, like a healthy person, respects the process and the pattern and pays the price to stay healthy and produce healthy believers.

FredWes is healthy but MUST continue to touch ALL the bases!


Are you on base with that?

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

March 26, 2015

"Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:37-39

Home plate is the connection base where you commit to God to receive His power and purpose.

First base is the character base where you consecrate yourself to his personal plan for you.

Second base is the community base where God's love in you connects with God's love in others to create community in His Spirit.

Success at second base is evidence you have successfully connected at home and at second. Second base is where your godly love will get expressed or you lack of love will get exposed.

When you get into second base you are considered to be in "scoring position" because you can get home from there on a base hit by a team mate. So getting to second base is VERY important!

How will you get there?


A few helpful thoughts.


  • Keep short accounts. 

The Bible says, "Be angry but sin not. Don't let the sun go down on your wrath." 

Get over things quickly. Extend grace and give the benefit of the doubt. Think well of others. If it bothers you too much then humbly meet with the person and work through it.


  • Forgive what you can't fix!
Unilateral forgiveness is the best kind. You need forgiveness from time to time so don't hesitate giving it to others. Take the high road and be the bigger person. Love like Velcro and forgive like Teflon!
  • Give more than you get!
Who do you like best, givers or takers? Right! So be a giver! Add value to everyone you meet. Do more than is demanded and more than expected. Give what you would like to receive. 

Let's see: keep short accounts, forgive what you can't fix, and give more than you get. Who does that sound like?

The Best Second Base player ever, Jesus!

Will you move into scoring position today?







Tuesday, March 24, 2015

March 25, 2015

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”  Romans 12:1-2

Home plate is where you connect with God. Everything begins and ends at home plate.

First base is where God connects with you! First base is the personal character base.

The home plate connection is about commitment and the first base connection involves consecration.

The Apostle Paul describes that first base connection with the Christians in the Roman church. Character connection begins with several decisions or in the original language “a decisive dedication”.

This verse highlights three levels of consecration that develops His character in you:

Consecrate your body!

Consecration happens at an altar where a sacrifice is laid there as a worship offering to the Lord. This is the image Paul portrays in this admonition.

Here’s the literal rendering of this thought:

“I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.

Have you done that? Have you consecrated yourself to Him?

Consecrate your will!

Once a sacrifice was offered on the altar, whether it be a lamb or a heifer or a dove, it stayed there lifeless until it burned up in the fire on the altar.

But your consecration is a “living sacrifice”. The problem with living sacrifices is it can get up off the altar.

So, a consecrated “living sacrifice” must make a willful decisive decision to remain on the altar. A living sacrifice consecrates his will to the Lord daily, refuses to follow the pattern of the world and chooses to follow the pattern of God.

Have you done that? Have you consecrated your will to God?

Consecrate your mind!

“But be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God,

God doesn’t demand an educated mind or a shrewd mind or a creative mind or a brilliant mind, He demands a transformed mind! A transformed mind is a mind that has been cleansed by the blood of Jesus and fundamentally changed at the deepest level by the power of Christ.
When God transforms your mind, you will think differently than you did before! When God transforms your mind His Word will become clearer to you each time you read it. When God transforms your mind you will think more about God and less about yourself!

First base is the character base and that character is developed by a consecration of your body, will and mind to God – EVERY DAY!

Have you done that? Will you?

CHARACTER – don’t leave first without it!

Monday, March 23, 2015

March 24, 2015

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”  Romans 12:1-2

All this talk about baseball we have been doing on Sunday mornings and with my fantasy baseball teams drafted and now the weather is warming I got anxious to see when opening day is for Major League Baseball. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the MLB season opens March 31st!

I have no idea how good the Nationals will be or how much improvement by Chicago Cubs will show, but I know this – on opening day there will be batters coming to home plate and running the bases in the right order. No one will even thing of running the bases backward.

When game time arrives on March 31st and the first pitch is thrown all the attention will be focused on home plate. Does anyone doubt that?

On that day, as well as today and each day in between your focus should be fully trained on home plate, your connecting point with the God of your salvation!

In your spiritual relationship with Christ every day is opening day! Every day you must come to the plate to reconnect with fresh grace, fresh power, fresh peace, fresh purpose, fresh hope, fresh joy, and fresh presence! Yesterday’s connection was sweet but it is stale. You don’t want to come to today’s challenges in yesterday’s experience.

It’s nice to remember that first time you came to the plate and how thrilling that initial connection with Christ was! And it is wonderful to reflect on those bygone days when to connected on the sweet spot with Jesus and took it deep! But those blessings won’t do anything for you today.

None of us know when our last trip to the plate will be but there will be one. And you can’t say for certain that day won’t be today. Would you want to be depending on past connections that last time you step to the plate?
Me neither.

Imagine coming to the plate today and making a solid connection with God that is so real and so pure and so satisfying that you just have to wait for a moment before heading up the first base line!

Imagine doing that again tomorrow and the say after that until the last trip to the plate when your faith connection becomes sight!

Imagine becoming like Him as you see Him as He is!

If you like those images and find them inspiring, head to home plate and renew your connection with Christ! He is waiting to connect with you!






Sunday, March 22, 2015

March 23, 2015

"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."   Psalm 51:1-10


How many times can I disappoint God by my sins, especially the besetting sins or those who just keep commiting the same sin over and over? Will there be point and time when God will say, "That's it! You're done! No more mercy or grace for you!"?

Face it, with every other relationship there is a point where one more disappointment is the deal-breaker and that person will bail out on you. They either end the relationship or withdraw emotionally from you. That hurts so much that it can cause you to be guarded and cautious in all relationships. The fear of losing a relationship and being rejected should we disappoint them one more time can be almost paralyzing. It can put tremendous pressure on all of your relationships and create insecurity.


Perhaps David feared he had disappointed God so much that there would be no redemption for him. He obviously was plagued by guilt and remorse. In out to God, David asks for 3 things to happen?


Transgressions blotted out – "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions." THIS IS THE ACT ITSELF – “Please Lord, forget I ever did what I did, blot it out so it can never be seen again!”


Iniquity washed – "Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place."  THIS IS THE GUILT IT BRINGS – Guilt is the leftover stuff, the anger we have at our self, what we cannot forgive about what we did, the punishment that I am putting on myself, I cannot forgive me.


Sin cleansed – "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." THE ONE WHO DID IT – The stuff in me that causes me to do these things, I want this cleansed, I don’t want to be that person.


David sinned terribly and disappointed His God and himself. This prayer of three-fold contrition restored him to fellowship with God and helped him work through his guilt and disappointment with himself.

If you fear you have disappointed God and wonder if you can be forgiven and restored, read Psalm 51 several times humbly and prayerfully. Then pray that Psalm sincerely to God. See if God's grace will meet you as it did King David.