Look Up | March 19th

“ If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the Lord toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, then hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.”

   1 Kings 8:44-45

  Beloved, although God created the world, it is marred by human sin and the curse. As citizens of heaven, we reside in this world, yet we do not belong to it, which results in continual strife. We walk the narrow path that opposes the broad way. As children of light, we encounter opposition from darkness, which seeks to extinguish the light within us.

  Despite these challenges, our hearts remain steadfast because our Lord goes before us. The battle belongs to Him, and He has secured victory on our behalf. Unlike the exhortation in this verse, we do not look to a specific location on earth. Instead, we lift our eyes to heaven, to the place the Lord has prepared for us. We look to Him, our redeemer and friend, who will never forsake us and has promised to be with us wherever we go.

  If your heart is burdened by the journey or you feel discouraged by the surrounding chaos, lift your eyes and heart to Christ. Cast your cares upon Him. He knows you and has heard your prayer. The Lord is for you and is working all things for your good. The Spirit of God will empower you and enable you to finish your race well.

In Christ Alone.

Pastor Wight

Jesus Called You | March 18th

 “Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ’Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

  Mark 1:16-17

  Beloved, while we have not been called as Apostles, Christ has still called each of us by name into salvation, just as He called these men.

  Jesus met these men right where they were, in the middle of their daily lives. Simon and Andrew had no idea that morning that Christ would step into their lives and call them by name. In the same way, we were lost in sin and living in a broken world, but the Lord came to us like a Good Shepherd searching for the lost. We were busy with our own lives when He found us.

  We were unable to ascend to heaven or fulfill any requirements to enter into fellowship with God. Only grace in Christ could reach down to us and call us by name. This demonstrates the power, beauty, and majesty of the Gospel: God has initiated contact with us in our fallen state.

  Let this truth be your comfort. Be assured that God is with you and that you belong to Him. You have heard your name called, turned from sin, entered into fellowship with God, and now follow Christ. All of this has occurred by grace alone, in Christ alone, through faith alone. We have no grounds for self-reliance. Let us therefore express gratitude and worship the One who entered our daily lives, saved us from sin, and called us His own.

In Christ Alone.

Pastor Wight

Confession | March 17th

 “Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me!”

  Psalm 19:13

  Beloved, we are not preserved from sin through our own efforts, but by the same grace that brings salvation. In salvation, we acknowledge our status as sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. Through Christ, we are reconciled to God, His righteousness is imputed to us, and we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We become new creations in Christ.

  Confession remains part of sanctification and living faith. We do not need to be saved repeatedly, but we confess before God our need for His sustaining mercy. We admit our tendency to stray and our need for the Holy Spirit to live in us, enabling us to overcome our sinful nature and the spirit of this age.

  Confession is essential to the believer’s life. The psalmist asks the Lord to guard him from sin and prevent its dominion. This petition should shape our daily prayers, grounded in the security we possess in Christ. We must continually present the state of our hearts before God, even as His children. Acknowledge your ongoing need for Christ today and seek the Spirit’s power to free you from the rule of presumptuous sins. The Lord is faithful to preserve you to the end.

In Christ Alone.

Pastor Wight