Monday, April 28, 2014

A Big Army

There is a story in 2 Kings 6 about a whole army that shows up to attack just two guys. Well, not just any two guys―one of them is a great prophet named Elisha. His servant is pretty freaked out, but Elisha says, “There are more with us than there are with them.” Then he asks God to open the servant’s eyes. Now, his servant’s eyes weren’t actually closed, but I think you get the idea. Anyway, sure enough, the servant looks again, and he too can see the massive army of God that is surrounding the attacking army. So, what can we learn from this? Well, we can be like Elisha, who, at a time that looked bad, stayed in hope. He kept his head high. He didn’t say, “Oh poor me. Where’s God now...?” Instead, he trusted God, despite what things looked like. This is an example for us. The world sometimes has trouble, but we need to be a voice of hope. We are children of God. We are the ones that trust God and say, "Hey, don’t sweat it. There are more with us than against us." Trust, boiling up from our hope, will bring us the win!

Pastor Jason Anderson
Living Word Bible Church
Scottsdale | Mesa | Ahwatukee

Monday, April 21, 2014

No Works Attached

We’re told in Proverbs 20:30 that “Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being.” Okay, so line up all you sinners for a good flogging. Which one of us is innocent of all impurity―sinless, blameless, holy? Who doesn’t need a hearty purging? Well, the truth is that Jesus took all of this on our behalf. He was beaten for our sins, bruised for our iniquities. Jesus is the one who stood in line for us and cleansed away our evil, and His beating purges our inmost being. You are the pure, the holy, the blameless and the righteous. These things are unattainable, and yet if you put your faith in Christ, they are a free gift to you. You may still be tempted to punish yourself in your guilt, and you might think it will help you. You might be thinking, “Well, I really deserve every bad thing that happens to me,” but that isn’t God’s strategy. If we could become “good” without Christ, then He wouldn’t have come. We can’t. It’s when you receive Him as your Savior that you are free from evil, and the inner part of you begins to change. Jesus came and brought us life. Praise Jesus!

Pastor Jason Anderson
Living Word Bible Church
Scottsdale | Mesa | Ahwatukee

Monday, April 14, 2014

Something To Celebrate

On Passover, the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan, Jesus died for us. Three days later He was resurrected, and this is the day the world celebrates as Easter. Well then, happy Easter! This event— Jesus dying for us—is the single biggest event in human history. It changed everything. Before Jesus' death, things between God and man were very different. When sin happened someone had to pay, and the wages of sin is death. Jesus paid this debt with His life. So when you read the Bible, ask yourself the question, "In this story, has Jesus died yet?" It may be that you are studying how things used to work, before Christ died, like the story of Job, about a man who had no redeemer. This isn't you. You have a Redeemer. So what am I saying? When you read the word of God, always see it through the cross of Jesus Christ. Jesus died. He got what you deserved. So now, by faith, you have access to all that He earned. You can live in His righteousness, in His holiness, and that’s something we can all celebrate!

Pastor Jason Anderson
Living Word Bible Church
Scottsdale | Mesa | Ahwatukee

Monday, April 7, 2014

Feed Your Happy

Psalms 1:2 talks about the man who is happy and says that he is like a tree that is bearing fruit. I want to be happy; I want to be like this tree. So he gives me the secret to this man's happiness and blessing—"His delight is on the law of the Lord, and on it he meditates day and night." This man is “feeding his happy” with the word of God. So the secret to “feeding your happy” is to love reading the Bible so much that you’re thinking about it all day and night. Now lots of people don't like reading the Bible. Others do. When I think about what I like, it seems like I don't have a choice. I think I was born not liking vegetables, and I don't like country music. But according to this, you can change what you like. God wouldn't just leave you without a chance to do what this happy guy does. God has placed in you the desire to like His word. You just have to stir up that desire. The word of God has the wisdom you need to live a happy life. You are designed to be delighted by God's word. So get out your Bible and “feed your happy!” #feedyourhappy

Pastor Jason Anderson
Living Word Bible Church
Scottsdale | Mesa | Ahwatukee

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