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Pastor’s Perspective Dr. Don Gommesen Senior Pastor “Captive To Be Free”
Have you ever considered this hymn by George Masterson? It was written in the nineteenth century and yet, I think the words have great meaning for the twenty first century Christian. Consider the apparent contradiction in the words.
Make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free. and I shall conqueror be. when by myself I stand; and strong shall be my hand.
My heart is weak and poor until it master find; it varies with the wind. till Thou has wrought its chain; and deathless it shall reign.
My power is faint and low till I have learned to serve; it lacks the breeze to nerve. until itself be driven; when Thou shalt breathe from heaven.
My will is not my own till Thou hast made it Thine; it must its crown resign. amid the clashing strife, and found in Thee its life.
The first stanza of this verse echoes the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10. Paul was given a thorn in the flesh which he calls, “a messenger of Satan.” Concerning this, he has sought the Lord three times. The answer is not what Paul expected, nor was it what we expected in reading the text. “Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’”
The word translated “strength” is dunamis, which means, first and foremost, ability. God said to Paul, “I chose not to remove the thorn, but I will give you all that you need to do the work I have called you to do.” It does not tell us how long it took for him to come to the placed he did in the end of verse 9. Still, Paul recognized that the ultimate priority was the glory of God. If God was going to glorify Himself by making the Apostle strong in his own troubles, that was God’s choice to make. So, Paul said, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
What a contrast with the day in which we live. Frequently we think that God owes us so much, when He really owes us nothing. The message of this hymn teaches us that God’s goal for our lives is that we would give our lives to Him, since He gave everything for us.
Let me close by repeating the last stanza. As you and I read it, let us ask two questions: (1) Is the Masterson correct? (2) Are we willing to let Him have this control in our lives?
My will is not my own till Thou hast made it Thine; it must its crown resign. amid the clashing strife, and found in Thee its life. |
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John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Which God do you worship – the true loving God or the god of death?
2 Corinthians 11:12-15 “But what I do, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.”
Church, beware of these things that are taking place at this very moment. There are at this moment false teachers who are in sheep’s clothing and are representing God’s chosen. And the flock is sleeping to the truth because the imposters are deceiving them into believing falsehood. Another thing that is happening is the flock isn’t reading God’s Word. We must be in God’s Word so we can know God’s truth from false teachings. Those who neglect God’s Word are more open to Satan’s deception.
In Revelation 12:7-9 Satan is thrown out of heaven. “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
There is much more about this evil being. Study God’s word so that you will know how Satan works and won’t be deceived or oppressed by him. This will also prepare you to fight off his attacks and live for the Almighty God.
THE MAKING OF A FAMILY
Oh, show me a place Where the children can race With their pets and their friends ev’ry day, Where tears mix with dirt And are wiped on the sirt, And the mother is fast turning gray.
Oh, show me once more A child doing his chore, Where labor is mingled with play, Where Dad shows him how And he’s learning right now That this life is not all that they say.
Oh, show me a house Where the man and his spouse Talk things over at close of each day, Where life’s values are high And the Bible’s near by And the parents both know how to pray.
For a child and his pet And a friend he has met And tears on a shirt And chore time and dirt And a mother turned gray And a dad who can pray Are the makin’s of fam’lies who stay.
By Betty Jo Mathis |
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Glenn and his wife Becky Kerr are our featured missionaries. They are with Bibles International, The Bible Society Division of Baptist Mid-Missions. Bibles International has been part of Baptist Mid-Missions for 30 years, established in 1981. A necessary tool for Baptist Mid-Missions missionaries is the Bible in the language of the people to whom they minister. Of the 6,809 languages spoken in the world 4,548 are without any written scriptures. Bibles International assists missionaries and nationals in translating, publishing, and distributing God's word. This is usually done as a result of, or in association with, missionary church planting efforts. Bibles International translators and consultants base their work upon the divinely preserved Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. All the while they seek the guidance and direction of God in achieving a good and accurate translation of His word into another language which has previously been without a copy of God's word. The translators base all of their work upon a shared belief in the Bible as the very word of God, which is given to us by plenary-verbal inspiration of God, and which is totally without error in its original manuscripts. Glenn has been involved with the Bible Translation and Training program of Bibles International for over 15 years. They work out of the ministry's headquarters office in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Glenn and Becky have three adult children, all of whom are married. Glenn has traveled all over the world working extensively with various Bible translation projects and training translators on every continent, except Antarctica, which currently has no need for Bible translation work. Glenn is conducting some electronic video workshops on Bible translation. He hopes these will someday decrease the amount of travel and expense necessary to hold these workshops. However, he often still works for weeks on various projects in the field. In all the Bible translation projects around the world, they go forward as the Lord wills and provides. They do this in spite of unrest, difficulties, and obstacles that God alone can overcome. Glenn has two chief goals, first to impart God's word to the unreached people groups around the world and second to share his knowledge and understanding of Bible translation work with other translators. He is skilled in both Greek and Hebrew, thus enabling him to convey the word of God with accuracy to national translators who can then transcribe the Bible into the language of a people group still without a Bible in their language. Glenn and his wife Becky look forward to opportunities to inform others, such as church and college groups, of the work of Bible translation. Knowing that more people groups have God's word in their own language and are coming to know the Lord as their personal Lord and Savior makes Glenn and Becky rejoice in what He has allowed them to accomplish. They ask for our prayerful support for continued health, strength, and safety as they continue to minister and also to see more souls brought into God's kingdom. By George Roux |
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Calvary Chronicle |
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Volume 4, Issue 3 |
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Summer 2011 |
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Missionary News The Kerrs Glenn & Becky |
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Library News |
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If you are in the mood for “fun & fluffy” reading, do not read the Intervention Series, by Terri Blackstock. INTERVENTION is the fictional story of a teenage girl who spirals out of control after the death of her father. In spite of being a Christian and having a loving Christian family, Emily turns to drugs and another kind of “family” to help her cope. When she finally hits bottom and is on her way to rehab, she’s arrested for murder.
VICIOUS CYCLE - Continues to show the evils of using drugs and also involves human trafficking in the story line. As the title suggests, even though God was waiting and willing to help, it seemed impossible to stop the horrible cycle of abuse. Be sure to read Notes from the Author, where Terri shares why she wrote these books. She reminds us “No one living in America can deny that our culture has changed. The drug culture alone is killing our kids. In times like these it’s easy to throw up our hands and declare there must not be a God…” Terri reminds us to “see this life as a training ground for a greater purpose that has everything to do with eternity, and if you see that Jesus came to offer us an escape from the hell that was calling to us…enduring our punishment so that we could emerge whole and flawless, you’ll see how everything has meaning. YOU ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF GOD’S PLAN AND YOU HAVE A PURPOSE IN HIS ETERNITY.” By Carolyn Brewer |
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All clip art featured in this issue is compliments of Dave Whitlock (www.davewhitlock.com). |
