Taking a Minute

Peace of Jesus

heatherlwbc — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 07:00:49 +0000

John 16:33 (NIV): “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world.” Now Jesus is going to be crucified shortly after saying this, so these are kind of like His parting words to His disciples. Of all the things He wanted them to hear, it was peace. It’s like Jesus was saying, “Alright, sometimes things get crazy in this world, but you can have My peace.” He didn’t just give us some peace, but His peace. Jesus is your peace. When life gets crazy it usually means we need more of something. We run out of money, we need more money, or less bills. Someone is sick, we need more health. So Jesus might say, “When the trouble comes, what you really need is more Me. I’ll be your peace.” It doesn’t mean the storm magically disappears, it means you aren’t stressed out about the storm. You have peace. You are trusting that Jesus has overcome the world back at the cross. And He has. Are you nervous, anxious, scared or worried? Forget about it. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, you just need more Jesus.

Pastor Jason Anderson

The Living Word Bible Church

Jesus My Advocate

heatherlwbc — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 07:00:41 +0000

1 John 2:1 says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Ok, so the goal here is to not sin, but hey, sometimes you might sin. And it doesn’t say “But if anyone does sin, well you’re gonna burrrrn.” Instead it says, hey, I’m hoping you don’t sin, but if you do, you have an advocate. An advocate is someone who comes to your aid, helps you, and pleads your case before a judge. Now Jesus is your advocate, and one thing you may notice about Jesus, He’s really good at everything. So you have the best advocate ever, and He’ll never send you a bill. He’s absolutely free. Sometimes we get the idea that Christianity is about don’t sin or you’re gonna burn. But really Christ was about forgiveness. He says, well, you might sin, but I won’t and then I’ll take your sin, even the ones you haven’t committed yet, and I’ll nail them to the cross with Me. I’ll even take them to the grave. And then He stands before the Lord, and when you sin, He’s your advocate, and He says, I already paid the price for this sin. I died for it. Yeah, Jesus is your advocate. Like that.

Pastor Jason Anderson

The Living Word Bible Church

Temptation… Run Away

Pastor Jason — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 08:00:10 +0000

In Matthew 5 Jesus is teaching his disciples about prayer (yes, it’s a running theme with me this last month) and he points out different things we should be bringing to God. In one case he says that we should ask God to “Lead us not into temptation.” Now the early church started teaching that God sometimes tempts us, and maybe they got the idea from this, but James 1:13 clears it all up by saying God does not tempt anyone. In the Greek language they mix up the words different for reasons like emphasis, but another way of saying this would be to say “LEAD US away from temptation.” So really what I’m praying is “God, lead me away from temptation.” You see, it’s me that goes to temptation. Or sometimes temptation is stalking me. (I’m using the word stalking, because temptation is a tricky little guy. It’s lurking in the strangest of places.) So the real trick to overcoming temptation is to stay away from it. Like with Joseph. When Potiphar’s wife started hitting on him, Joseph took off running. See Joseph recognized that his human side might do something stupid if he stuck around. He was being led away from temptation. Jesus had to be tempted on our behalf; he took temptation for us and beat it. Now when He had been tempted three times he sent Satan away from him. “Away from me.”

When it comes to temptation, well, usually we don’t include God at all when we are being tempted. Like Eve, she could’ve called on God when Satan was tempting her, but she didn’t. How would things have been different if she would have included God? So in this prayer, we are including God, were asking him to help. Hey, I see some temptation, Father God, steer me out of here. You see God’s strength is made perfect in your weakness, but you should ask Him for that help. James said, “we have not because we ask not.” Want to overcome temptation, well pray about it, ask God to get you away from it. Now that sounds like something He would definitely help with.

The Living Word Bible Church – Jason Anderson

Daily Loaf of Wisdom

Pastor Jason — Sat, 25 May 2013 08:00:34 +0000

Well you’re reading this, so that’s like manna, and today I’m talking about prayer. When Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, one of the things he told them to say was “Give us this day our daily bread.” Well you might be thinking, hey, bread is carbs, that’s to many carbs. But when Jesus talks about bread he’s talking about God’s word. He tells the devil that “man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” You see daily bread is like the manna the Israelites got every day. And Jesus said, “I am the bread of life”, and of course Jesus is the Word of God. So it wasn’t about carbs, it was about God’s word, the Bible, Jesus.

Do you need a little Jesus every day? Well, we want a lot of Jesus. In fact, we want all of Him. Including in our prayer life the prayer for daily bread reminds us to that we need to be in the word searching for the wisdom of God. We need not only some oatmeal and brown sugar, we also need A bible buffet. A scripture soufflé. He was telling us to pray, “Lord teach me something new today.” When we pray we ask for all sorts of stuff, and God is our father, so we can. But one of the greatest things we can ask for is Wisdom. And where are we going to get some wisdom? Well, God’s word of course. And God also put in to place a system where both faith and the wisdom of God is heard when we go to church. Seriously. I’m not just saying this because I’m a preacher, but check this out: Eph 3:10 “His intent was that through the church the manifold wisdom of God is made known” Remember from Malachi 3 – “that there might be food in my house….” You see, the food is at church. Uh huh. Daily bread. Bible. Church. Eat up.

The Living Word Bible Church – Jason Anderson

Pray to the FATHER

Pastor Jason — Wed, 15 May 2013 08:00:47 +0000

When Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray in Luke 11, he starts out by saying “Our father.” This was the Lord’s prayer he spoke. When Jesus prayed in public, he didn’t recite the Lord’s prayer, but He did address the Lord as Father. And I like how He uses the term “Our father”. We know that God is His father, but here he includes us, saying hey, we’re brothers, He’s our Father. And this was new information. Before Christ when men and women of the Lord prayed, they didn’t address God as “Father.” Abraham, or Moses, or Jacob, or Joshua, or Nehemiah, and so on. They prayed lots of times, but never saying “Father.” So when Jesus uses the term father, it is new information. This was Jesus making a point to make a huge change in approaching God. We should really meditate on this.

A father is not some far away God that is unapproachable, but instead, we can ask our father to do things that we would not just ask anyone. It’s a much closer relationship, it’s family, and He’s totally approachable. And whether you had the worst dad in the world or the best, Father God is infinitely more loving than an earthly dad, He is perfect, and He has wonderful gifts in mind for you. Jesus points this out when He says “what father, even though he is evil, gives his child a bad gift when he asks? How much more then will Father God give us good gifts.” Yeah, your daddy has got you. So approach God Jesus style, as “Father”. Or like Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsamane, “Abba Father”. I think when we say it out loud it does something on the inside of us.

The Living Word Bible Church – Jason Anderson

A New Arrow in Your Quiver

Pastor Jason — Wed, 08 May 2013 08:00:52 +0000

In Luke 11 Jesus disciples ask him to teach them how to pray. This makes sense, since when Jesus prayed they had noticed two things. First, when Jesus prayed, it sounded different than everyone else. Second, when Jesus prayed, stuff happened. Is it any different now? Should we also be taught how to pray? I would say the answer is yes. Jesus, teach us how to pray.

Prayer is a new arrow in our quiver, it’s something we didn’t have when we didn’t know the Lord. When we were lost, if wanted something to change, well, all we could do was try harder, using our mind and our own strength. And when something seemed impossible, well, then it was, and you would just have to give up. But now that you know Jesus, when things are impossible, you can pray. It’s when God works best, since nothing is impossible with God. And when Jesus teaches us to pray, he’s reminding us that there is a right way to do it; a more effective way of praying. In the sermon on the mount Jesus tells us how not to pray, like telling us to NOT pray like a show off – that we are oh so spiritual. And James points out that we have not because we ask not, or we ask with wrong intentions. So there is something to work on here. We can work on our praying. Not only should we pray, we should look to the word of God to find out how to be more effective in praying.

So get out your bible today, and say to the Lord, Holy Spirit, teach me how to pray. then get ready.

The Living Word Bible Church – Jason Anderson

Don’t Stay Angry….

Pastor Jason — Wed, 01 May 2013 07:00:22 +0000

Anger is a normal part of our life, both culturally, and individually. Anger untamed can bite us. We can end up bitter, or spiteful, or vindictive and full of revenge if we leave anger unattended. So how long should we stay angry? Say you’re in a battle with your spouse, and then they apologize; well it’s hard just to turn off the hurt feelings, and the words. So how long can I stay angry? Or what if someone never apologizes? Or maybe I just hit my thumb with a hammer. What is the statute of limitations on anger, at least, according to God?

The answers are of course, in the Bible. Like in Matthew chapter 5 when Jesus tells us not to be angry with our brothers. The key word here is the word “be”. Don’t “be” angry. You see, it’s an on going anger. You may get angry sometimes, but do you stay angry? Jesus got angry sometimes. Like when they turned the temple into a swap meet, yeah he was angry. And he gave it to Peter once calling him Satan. Sure, Jesus got angry. But he didn’t stay angry. He wasn’t still mad a Peter a few weeks later, telling Thomas, “Remember what Peter did a couple of weeks ago? Ugh! He just makes me so mad.” Jesus addressed the situations in a healthy manner, and then He let it go.

So don’t stay angry. Anger itself is not a sin, it’s an emotion. But what you do with it, well that part can mess you up. So here Jesus says don’t stay angry. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. Imagine how different life would be if everyone let go of their anger. Violence would cease, married couples would always wake up in love, and wars would disappear. Sure we get mad, and we might express that, but do we stay mad. And if you aren’t mad, well then there is just more room for you to be happy. Nice.

The Living Word Bible Church – Jason Anderson

Pastor Jason Anderson – All You Gotta Do is Love

Pastor Jason — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 20:44:29 +0000

I John 2:10 says “Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.” I like that it refers to a brother. Any believer is your brother and sister, but you know, if you have a real brother, then you probably have had some real brother fights. Proverbs 17:17 tells us that a brother is born for a bunch of fun and enjoyment.. no wait, that’s not what it says, it says that brothers are born for adversity. This means they battle a bit; you know, iron sharpening iron. So loving a brother isn’t always the easy thing to do. But it is the godly thing to do. And loving your brother and sister is a benefit to you. That love places you in the light. Now when the lights go out during an electrical outage, what is the first thing you do? Ah yes, look for light. “Hey, where’s the matches?” So it is the same in life. When the lights go out in life, and you stumble over the couch or trip on a box, well, all you gotta do is love. In the dark we start feeling around carefully so we don’t trip, and we end up getting even more intimate with the stumbling blocks. The real solution is to love, love the other believers in Christ, and this turns the light back on. Woola, (not sure that is a word) you don’t have to feel around for the obstacles, now you can keep jamming through life. Love isn’t always the easy road, and yet, it always makes the road easier.

The Living Word Bible Church

www.livingwordonline.com

Pastor Jason Anderson – Not So Fair

Pastor Jason — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 20:43:56 +0000

I Peter 2:19 “For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God.” What? What is this unjust suffering? (using my best professor voice) Good exegetical analysis starts with understanding the topic of what Peter was writing. This way we can accurately define what kind of suffering we are considering. This section of teaching is referring to submitting to man made authorities. Now since man imposed authorities have men in them, then God knows that some men will be unjust, mean, or wrong. This can effect you if you let it. For instance, say you got unfairly passed over for a promotion, or your professor unjustly gave you a bad grade. Well this whole passage is talking about that kind of unjust suffering. The verse just prior to this one says “Servants, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.”

So lets say you work somewhere and the authority is just plain wrong and unfair. Well you should get angry right? Or give that boss a piece of your mind? No. What this scripture is telling us is that we should work hard and respectfully no matter who is in authority. I put it like this. I will never let someone else determine how hard I work. So if another employee is getting away with being lazy, I’m not going to be lazy, it’s just not who I want to be. Or if authority is so unfair that it makes me want to quit, well, I’m not going to quit, because no one gets to determine how I feel. I work hard and honor leadership because God told me to, and nothing will distract me from that. Now none of us are perfect at that. On some level we are defeated here. Still, let us give our best effort. The scripture here told you to “bear up” under this suffering, which indicates that you should continue to produce in an upward manner with your head held high. Remember that when you are treated unfairly but you just keep on working hard with an honoring heart, well, then, God himself will reward you. And God rewards a lot better than people do.

www.livingwordonline.org

The Living Word Bible Church

Pastor Jason Anderson – Set Aside Your String Beans

Pastor Jason — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 20:40:44 +0000

Galatians 2:21 starts out with “I do not set aside the grace of God.” So there is stuff that we do set aside right? We set aside our string beans when we are eating, or we set aside some money that we aren’t spending. But grace isn’t to be set aside. When you set something aside you are benching it, taking it out of the game. Giving it a rest. You inactivate it, or make it stand still. It’s like having a phone that is turned off. It is designed to help connect you with people, but off, it will do nothing. Anything set aside is serving no current and active purpose. Those beans are doing nothing for no one set aside on your plate. (I give my string beans to the dog.)

So Paul is not keeping grace in the fridge, or in his pocket, but he is always keeping grace in motion, in all that he does he runs it through grace. So what does it mean to go through your day with grace operating? It means you aren’t in judgement of others, or criticizing others. It means you think good of others and yourself, and aren’t expecting anyone to uphold some sort of Christian standard that you yourself have set. It means that in all you do you can operate in the authority of Jesus Christ and expect mountains to move, storms to calm and sickness to leave. That authority is afforded to you because you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Grace. It means no weapon formed against you and your family can prosper, and that you accept no calamity as well deserved since Christ has died and paid the penalty in full for all sin for all time. It means that when you fail you are actively forgiving yourself, or if others let you down, you actively forgive them. You keep that grace in motion, you meditate upon it, and you allow that grace to teach you godly living. It is God’s grace who forgives you. It is a gift that frees us to be happy.

The Living Word Bible Church