All Glory to God in 2025 ....

"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen." -- Romans 11:36

Aristotle embraced the geocentric model, believing the earth to be the center of the universe. In 1543 Copernicus proposed a new paradigm placing the sun in the center. Over the years I have met some rather unusual individuals that dogmatically believe that they themselves are in fact the center of the universe. Could they all be wrong?

Paul has taken the church in Roman from the answer for mankind's lost condition to the divine elective plan for Israel. When all the detail and design is thoroughly revealed, the reader can see that all the glory belongs to the LORD of ALL. The whole universe comes together with beautiful symmetry when we acknowledge God as the true Center. Paul alone was right.

The best year is the one that begins and ends with this truth: "For from him and through him and to him are all things." Every pastor and every church will continue to grow stronger and more effective only when, the Lord alone is given all the glory. Life and ministry is never about us... it's ALL about Him!

"Finally, I ask you to think about your work, particularly your work for God as a Christian. Perhaps you say, “Surely that at least belongs to me, is achieved by me, and can be for my honor.” Really? If in your unsaved state you had no righteousness of your own, understood nothing of spiritual things, and did not seek God (as Romans 3:10–11 tells us), how could you even have had a desire to work for God unless God himself put it there? Our work for God flows from our love of God. But “we love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). How can anything be achieved except through God? Even the ability to plan a secular project or the strength to dig a ditch comes from him, since all is from God. If that is true of even secular efforts, how much more true must it be of Christian work? Spiritual work must be accomplished through God’s Spirit. So it is not you or I who stir up a revival, build a church, or convert even a single soul. Rather, it is as we work, being led in the work by God, that God himself by the power of his Holy Spirit converts and sanctifies those whom he chooses to call to faith... Do not take the glory of God to yourself. It is fatal to do that in any work, but especially in Christian work. Instead, glorify God."

 ~ James Montgomer Boice,  

Romans: God and History. Vol. 3

May 2025 bring great blessings from

the One who deserves all the Glory,

~ PJVS 

Upon His Shoulder...

“...And then, just when everything is bearing down on us to such an extent that we can scarcely withstand it, the Christmas message comes to tell us that all our ideas are wrong, and that what we take to be evil and dark is really good and light because it comes from God. Our eyes are at fault, that is all. God is in the manger, wealth in poverty, light in darkness, succor in abandonment. No evil can befall us; whatever men may do to us, they cannot but serve the God who is secretly revealed as love and rules the world and our lives.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone… For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” ~ Isaiah 9:1, 6

May this Christmas day bring the promise of a new day coming my pastor friend. As you rejoice in the birth of our Lord ... may you see in Him a great light at the end of the tunnel!

Because it's all on HIS shoulder,

~ PJVS

An Honorable Ambition...

Here's a good word of counsel from J. Oswald Sanders from his book on Spiritual Leadership... 

"Under the dangerous circumstances that prevailed in the first century, even stout-hearted Christians needed encouragement and incentive to lead. And so Paul called leadership an 'honorable ambition'. 

We ought never to forget that the same situation faces Christians today in certain parts of the world. Leaders of the church in China suffered most at the hands of Communists. The leader of the Little Flock in Nepal suffered years in prison after church members had been released. In many troubled areas today, spiritual leadership is no task for those who seek stable benefits and upscale working conditions. 

It remains true that any form of spiritual warfare will inevitably single out leaders who by their role present obvious targets. Paul urges us to the work of leading within the church, the most important work in the world. When our motives are right, this work pays eternal dividends."

My pastor friend, may you stay the course and never forget Paul's words of great encouragement found in 1 Corinthians 15:58..."Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."

Because He NEVER leaves us...

~ PJVS1 

Are you Praying Well?

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed." - Mark 1:35 

What more can be said? If the Master found it necessary to start the day in solitary prayer, what about his servants?

"The men who have most fully illustrated Christ in their character, and have most powerfully affected the world for him, have been men who spent so much time with God as to make it a notable feature of their lives. Charles Simeon devoted the hours from four till eight in the morning to God. Mr. Wesley spent two hours daily in prayer. He began at four in the morning. Of him, one who knew him well wrote: “He thought prayer to be more his business than anything else and I have seen him come out of his closet with a serenity of face next to shining.” John Fletcher stained the walls of his room by the breath of his prayers. Sometimes he would pray all night; always, frequently, and with great earnestness. His whole life was a life of prayer. “I would not rise from my seat,” he said, “without lifting my heart to God.” Luther said: “If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.” He had a motto: “He that has prayed well has studied well.” 

~ E. M. Bounds in Power through Prayer

If you're too busy to pray...  you're too busy.

~ PJVS

Take Courage!

"The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks. The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”" - Acts 23:10-11

Of the 102 passengers that boarded the Mayflower in 1620, 37 were members of the separatist Leiden congregation seeking freedom of worship in the new world. They were willing to take a most dangerous journey for the hope of religious freedom. For those believers, seeking and serving God freely was worth any sacrifice, so they chose to set sail and... Take courage!

Paul was faced with opposition and persecution time and again. There were times when his very life was endangered. Yet, the Lord was always faithful to come along side to encourage him as needed. Paul knew that God had much for him to accomplish and the path would not be easy, but he pressed on with the Lord's message ringing in his heart... Take Courage!

The Lord has a purpose and plan for every believer, but it may not be easy. Paul wrote Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:12... "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted".  Pastor, your path will be difficult at times but the Lord will always stand near to encourage you. The Pilgrims found freedom and you will achieve God's task if you will just press on and... Take Courage!

~ PJVS

E. G. R. People...

 "And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone."

 ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:14

As every snow flake is different, so each one of God's children is different. We are different in many ways and our spiritual journeys differ in both speed and level of maturity. A lesson I had to learn early in my ministry was this: everyone is at a different place in their walk with God and I need to be attentive to this fact. I need to be sensitive to their diversity and be kind.

Paul urged the Thessalonians to warn, encourage, help and be patient. Some brothers were idle, some were timid, some were weak and some just needed patience. I recently heard someone use the term "E.G.R. people" (Extra Grace Required people) for those who had special spiritual needs. Showing the love of Jesus is needed by everyone, but especially by "E.G.R. people". Be sensitive to their diversity and be kind.

Who are the believers that live in your circle of ministry? Are they all up to speed spiritually? Or do you find many of them are still struggling in their stability and growth? Be a good pastor and be patient and kind to your "E.G.R. people".

“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen... He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench... ”  

~ Matthew 12:18-20

~ PJVS 

Don't be an Imitation!

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning." ~ Psalm 130:5-6

"Oxygen is required for human life to exist. Fuel is needed for an automobile to run. And intimacy with Christ is the essential element and necessary fuel for useful ministry. If your faith doesn’t show through your ministry, you’re simply an echo of what God intends you to be. Your personal relationship with God greatly affects everything in ministry. As a spiritual leader, if you’re not Christlike, you can’t be productive.

 

Jesus was absolutely correct when He warned, “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Note the promise—bearing much fruit. Merely standing close to spiritual fires won’t make your ministry vibrant. Without constant contact with Jesus, you’ll soon become shallow, your vision superficial, your influence diluted and your satisfaction near zero. You’ll just be an imitation of the real thing."

~  The Shepherd's Covenant for Pastors by H. B. London & Neil B. Wiseman

"Often the work of the Lord itself may be a temptation to keep us from that communion with Him which is so essential to the benefit of our own souls."

 ~ George Muller

May you never allow ministry for Jesus rob you of intimacy with Jesus. May you never be an echo, but always the real thing!

Because apart from Him we can do nothing, 

~ PJVS