Pause: with Pastor Aaron

Between 1646 and 1647 a group of Anglicans came together in part to resolve an important question, "What is the reason man exists?"  The resulting document is known as the Shorter Westminster Catechism.  It simply says "The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever."  It's important that we keep this in its sequential order.   We exists (first) to glorify God with our lives. We exists (second) to enjoy Him forever.   The second is predicated on the first. Why this becomes important is that there are many times in life that we are called to glorify God in a manner that we do not enjoy.  Some times we are given seasons where we neither enjoy life not particularly enjoy God.  Every day seems a fight.  Every day brings us new difficulty, crisis and struggle.  If our mandate to glorify God is based upon how we feel in the moment, we would separate ourselves from Him.  We can not lose focus though on the fact that He is s...

Several verses today that gave me pause: "Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near" James 5:7-8. The wise King Solomon wrote, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens." Ecc 3:1. His father David remarked, "Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord" Psalm 27:14. The Proverbs say, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto thy own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths" Prov 3:5-6. I have a love-hate relationship with God's timing.  I love when it comes through and He is proven in control, yet one more time, over the affairs of life.  I hate how long it often it takes and how ...

Every little boy seems to have stumbled across an ant hill.   Disturb that hill only a bit and you will see hundreds of ants pour from it doing the work they were created to do.  They continue, having little idea that, in one moment, the boy can bring down a larger foot and crush their work into an unrecognizable mass. They are so focused on their existence, that they fail to see the potential for danger around them. Do we mirror the ants behavior?  Have we become so tuned into ourselves that we fail to see the potential danger occurring all around us?  As believers we are all subject to spiritual warfare, yet how many consider that anything we may be facing can, and often should, be attributed to a work of Satan as compared to 'personality clash', 'poor relationships' or 'people problems.' Even simply in our day to day, we can mirror the ants before a giant foot. Some of us have adopted carnal thinking that we must pursue certain things in order t...

I have been told that wisdom is the proper application of knowledge. As we seek to apply knowledge, we often will battle with the realities of God's timing. I will never forget when a wise brother asked me, "What is the better solution, to be right or be Spirit led?" That question exposed to me a reality that was brought by a mentor pastor of mine who presented, "A right thing, done in a wrong way is still wrong." Having knowledge (truth) is good, but knowing how to present that knowledge is often the key to receptivity. Maybe its sad that it is the state of the world, but it is what it is. So we must check our approach and ultimately our motives. We must be a people who are as hard and fast on how we apply knowledge as we are in gaining it to begin with. The following Scripture gave me pause on this topic: 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, imparti...

26  For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead" James 2:26 A common thought that has been shared with me is the insecurity some perceive in their Christian life.  Satan has a terrible ability to steer us away from the grace we have been freely given to the failures of our lives.  We often have hurt our relationship with Christ through those actions. So thankful for the grace of God.  It does not overlook sin, but it shows up when sin is present, with full hope of restoration through repentance.   Grace is not a license to sin, instead a tool used to redirect us back into fellowship and right standing.  Grace allows 2 major things to occur.  In the first sense it allows for the wrath of God to fall on the work of Jesus and not on us.  We call that propitiation.  The second thing that grace accomplished is the release of the Sprit to "guide us to all truth."  It is He who bring convic...

This morning is the conclusion of a 4 part devotional series based upon the position that sin should have no place in the life of a believer. Sin compromises the spiritual walk thus sin must be put to death. These statements take a hard line, yet they are truth. The benefit of eradicating sin from your life is intimacy with God and power. The consequences of compromise with sin are impotence and complacency. It comes down to what kind of a Christian do you want to be. Do you want a faith that can move the mountains, or do you want a religious experience? The choice is yours. Let me encourage you to return to the previous 3 blogs on the topic. God is dealing with this man on the subject. May you benefit from my journey. Today we deal with the life of sin. What this means is that you did not practice abstinence with lust and you did not abort the fetus of sin as it developed (see part 2). What has been born now is controlling your life, demanding satisfaction every day. Just l...

Yesterday we concluded the devotional with this thought, "The second part of this compels us to look at the formulation of sin. Sin is often the byproduct of several steps of  development. First, we have a need. Second, Satan attempts to woo us to his solution. Third, we rationalize his solution.  Fourth, we entertain his solution and finally we act upon it. This is sins gestation process an thus compels us, as believers in Christ, to address it in 2 ways: 1.  Birth control (Abstinence) 2.  Abortion The battle to defeat sin begins with these 3 simple words, "I trust God."  I trust God to wait.  I trust God that His plan is perfect.  I trust God beyond my moment and beyond what my eyes presently see.  I trust God to have my best interests at heart.  I trust God enough to walk away from what my flesh and mind are in agreement on. I trust God so much that I am choosing to practice abstinence with sin. Trustin...

On a trip to Chicago, a friend recently inspired me to put further thought into the place sin has in my life. His devotion to the pursuit of holiness and his black and white nature regarding it pushed me to further considerations. I love his no compromise, no retreat and no surrender outlook. It drove me into the Word to sharpen, reevaluate and make sure of some things. This is what God is showing me. Icontinue with part two from this verse that gave me pause: "14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." James 1:14 - 15 In part one we talked about the first battlefield being the battlefield of identity.  In Christ we are made new (2 Cor 5:17) and must not live allowing sin to corrupt the blank slate we have been given.  We do that through daily surrender to the fact that we should no longer live as we were prior to our conversi...

Grace can be so easily misunderstood. To some it is license for poor behavior while to others it is life. The reason for such a dichotomy is that Satan has slipped in and promoted his lie in the face of God's truth. Grace was never meant to be a scapegoat for sin. Grace is meant to be the springboard to further maturity and holiness.  Consider Paul's writings in Romans 6:1, "Shall we go on sinning that grace may abound? God forbid!" God forbid that grace becomes easy or cheap! God forbid that we view grace as that which permits us license. God forbid that grace is less than a fall back position for us to regroup, after we do sin, and then spring board forward for us to conquer the strongholds of sin in our lives; (see also 2 Cor 10:4 "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds." Destroying strongholds of sin in our lives is warfare that begins with an awakening or a reckoning of sorts. This awakening...