3 Ways To Read The Bible

This new year as you pick up or renew the habit of Bible reading I would like to remind you that there are 3 ways to read the Bible. And I should insist here that it is a very good idea that you have a regular habit of Bible reading. That is a big question and we dealt with this recently, You can listen to it here.

It is likely that we will go back and forth between these 3 different types of Bible reading at different points in our lives. And yet 2 of these approaches are problematic. And when I say that there are “3 ways” I am not talking about methods. There are many more than three ways to read through this big book, and others have given some good suggestions for this. No, I am thinking more of the motives of our heart. Why are we reading? Why are we disciplining ourselves to have a quiet time every day? And what are wehoping to accomplish?

First, we can read the Bible because that is what our tribe does. We can read the Bible to impress people that we are doing the right thing. All of us want to be respected, and one powerful temptation is to use our acts of righteousness as a way to get an ego boost from our friends and family.  Jesus spoke about this in Matthew chapter 6 in connection to prayer, fasting, and giving money.  This approach to life and discipline affects other areas as well. People go to the gym and diet for the same reasons, so they post pictures on Instagram and win the esteem of others.  In case you are wondering, this is NOT a good motive for reading the Bible. 

Second, we can read the Bible in an attempt to build a resume before God.  It is a constant temptation to relate to God by keeping score. It is easy to ask the wrong question: What do I need to do in order to get what I want from God?  We can follow a reading calendar, memorize the right verses, and faithfully write in our journals because we think that this will satisfy God and lead to a life of prosperity.  In my experience #1 and #2 are often connected. If we are working up a resume for God, it is almost impossible not to parade it around to friends. The other irony in this approach is that if we are paying attention to what the Bible says while we are reading we will very quickly crumple up our resumes and throw them in the fire.

The third way to read the Bible is to altogether different. It is not an attempt to impress either God or people. It is an awareness that in scripture God reveals himself and calls us near to him. When we read the great story of redemption in scripture we are seeing God unveil himself in human history. We are experiencing him unfold who he is and what he has done. And God does this with the greatest clarity in the person and work of Jesus Christ.   Reason #1 and #2 can easily lead to pride, weariness, and burnout.  But when we regularly approach the Bible as a way to draw near to God, something else will happen. I would like to challenge you to renew the habit of Bible reading, not because that is what good Christians do, or because you want to negotiate with God. I want to encourage you to read the Bible this year as a way to gain the most valuable thing possible. Read scripture in order to know and be known by God.

Update- Flooding and This Sunday

Dear FGC family,

Earlier this week I sent out an email and if you saw that you know we had a flood at the church building this week. The professionals have been busy drying things out, but it will likely be a few more days until we know the extent of the water damage and what other repairs are needed.  One thing we do know is that we will NOT be able to use our building this Sunday. There is a possibility that the building will be out of use for a longer period of time, but we are waiting for more details to determine this. I will keep you all posted on any developments in the meantime.

This Sunday we will be holding a joint worship service with Sovereign Hope Church at 10 am. They meet at Woods Elementary School at Clovis Ave and Teague Ave in the city of Clovis. You can see a map here. Like us, they are a church plant in the middle of the hard work of building a church that is faithful to the word of God and the gospel of Christ.   

In the last 6 months, I have been blessed to forge a friendship with their pastor, Sam Musgrave.  We have been meeting together along with other pastors each month to pray for our churches.  It has been pleasure to connect with him over our common love of the gospel and the word of God.

I shared our situation with Pastor Musgrave and he and his congregation are happy to have us join them for worship.  We will likely need some volunteers to help coordinate the service, and we will give you more info on this in the coming days.  This Sunday is also their monthly potluck and they have invited us to join them. If you are able to, please bring a dish to share (entrée, side, dessert).  Think of this as the church version of sleeping on a friend’s couch!

We are still working out the details but I wanted to let you know what is going to happen this week.

Many of you have asked if we need any help at the building. Thank you so much for your texts and emails. Right now we are waiting for things to dry out, so there isn’t anything for us to do. In the coming weeks, there will surely be some work to do and we will communicate this to you.

Please share this info with anyone you know that attends our church so that everyone gets the word.

Contact Pastor Matt if you have any questions

How to Help Refugees In Fresno

Friends, a neighborhood just up the street from our church building is experiencing major problems. They have not had gas in several weeks and so cannot cook, clean, or heat their homes. The majority of the residents there are refugees from Southeast Asia. Several local ministries have set up emergency facilities to help this community and they need staffing help.

Here is a new story about the situation:

Mayor Swearengin to declare emergency at apartment complex without gas, hot water

You can help by volunteering several hours to help prepare and/or serve food, and also clean up.

FIRM- Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries is leading the effort along with some of the disaster teams from the local Baptist Association.

Check out the FIRM Website or their Facebook page.

The info below is from their Facebook page.

FIRM is located at 1940 N. Fresno Ave, Fresno CA 93703

The kitchen is located behind the apartment complex on the north side of Weldon. See the map below.

Here are the daily shifts where help is needed.

Lunch: 
9-11am prep for lunch
12-1pm distribute and serve meals
1-3pm clean up after lunch

Dinner: 
2-4pm prep for dinner
5-6pm distribute and serve meals
6-8pm clean up after dinner

All volunteers need to be 16 and over.

To sign up for a time slot, e-mail MaiChai at maichai@carefresno.org

New Parking Arrangements

We have new neighbors, the building next door on the same campus is now occupied by a Spanish speaking church. As a result we need to make some adjustments. See the maps below.

Faithful and Just

When forgiveness happens at the expense of justice the effect is to diminish both the forgiveness and the integrity of the one offering it.

This is the kind of problem that Chris Arnade decribes in a recent article in the Guardian. He spent much of his life as a Wall Street trader, but left that to document the lives of street people and drug addicts. The title of his article tells it all, “The wealthy 'make mistakes', the poor go to jail.”  It seems we have a justice system that is not very just. It is one that is quick to show “mercy” and leniency to people with money, and just as quick to inflict the full weight of justice on those with nothing.

If you are a rich person and you commit the same crime as a poor person, but you are “pardoned” while they go to jail, you may be happy that you escaped justice. But deep down you know the system has failed. You are not more worthy to walk free than the other person. And you might wonder if a system so unjust might not catch up with you. If the judge broke his oath to the law, he can break his word to you. Under the right circumstances you could be sold to a higher bidder.  At some point in the future you could end up in jail anyway. That is not a very secure pardon.  The statement, “there but for the grace of God go I” is not fitting in your case, because it wasn’t God’s grace that spared you but a system that understands neither justice nor mercy.

That is why I John 1:9 is such a comforting promise.  “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  God’s forgiveness is not something offered as a back room favor to a privileged few at the expense of justice. God’s forgiveness is offered to all without discrimination because Jesus paid the full price for our sins. We committed the capital crime and he went to death row. We destroyed valuable treasures, he repaid the bill at the cross. And he has promised to forgive all who come to him in faith and repentance. That is a great comfort.

God recognizes the full weight of my sin. When my conscience tells me that I have done awful things, God does not disagree. In fact, in the eyes of justice, we are worse than we realize. But he knows it, and still sent Christ to pay our debt. Our consciences can rest in the work of Jesus. He is faithful and just to forgive us!

3 Practical Ways Jesus Talks About the Judgment Day

When you read the New Testament, at some point you will encounter Jesus talking about the judgment day. And if you keep reading, you will run into it again and again.  It is easy to think that Americans “like Jesus, but don’t like the church.”  But I suspect that when most people say they like Jesus they aren't thinking about his teachings on sex or the judgment day.  A God that is holy and just isn't customizable. We don't like a God that punishes people for their transgressions. Accordingly, the world mocks this, and sadly many Christians retreat or apologize to avoid embarrassment.

But in the New Testament gospels, Jesus talks about the judgment day. He talks about it a lot. Really.  And when he talks about it, it is vivid, bold, and surprisingly very practical. At Free Grace Church are in the middle of a series of sermons on the book of Luke. While studying chapter 12, I noticed three ways that Jesus talks about the judgment day and what effect it should have on us.

First, Jesus uses the judgment day as an antidote to hypocrisy.

A hypocrite is a person who wears a mask. They pretend to be what they are not.  Jesus famously compares the hypocrites of his day to people who clean the outside of the cup but leave the inside filthy (11:39).  Hypocrites work hard on branding. They have to parade their good deeds, and hide their corruption.  In order to be a successful hypocrite you have to keep a lot of secrets.

Jesus reminds his disciples, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.” (Luke 12:1-3)  The coming judgment day will be a day of exposure. And everything that we hoped would stay hidden will be plastered on the front page news. God already knows the secret things, but one day everyone will know them. If we remembered this, we could never hope to maintain a life of secret corruption.  Since we know that our sins will be revealed at some point, we should expose them ourselves through confession and repentance.

Second, Jesus also uses the judgment day in order to put persecution and suffering in perspective. 

 Our fear of death and pain is almost universal. And Jesus tells us that we should not be controlled by this fear, because dying is not the worst thing that could happen to us.  “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!”   (Luke 12:4-5)  Jesus invites us to face the “worst case scenario” head on. Death and the torture of the body is NOT our greatest enemy. The destruction of the soul is far worse.  In his perfect Justice God will bring every person to account for their sins.  

Following this warning, Jesus also reminds us that when we fear God, we don’t need to fear anything because he cares for us. “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”   When we live in fear of people who threaten us with death, we become their slaves. They own us, and we will never completely escape from this fear.  But when we come to God in holy fear and faith, he promises to care for us.   It is only when we fear him that we hear the words “fear not.”  After all, Jesus faced death for us that we might live forever.

Third, Jesus uses the future judgment as a prescription for greed and covetousness.

A man asked Jesus to help him settle a financial dispute within his family. Jesus rebukes him and then tells the parable of the rich fool.  The man in the parable had tunnel vision. He only thought about his money, and he only thought about this mortal life. He didn’t think about his soul, or about eternity. The sober truth is that one day all of our possessions will be taken away from us.  We can only live for “stuff” if we believe it is safe and secure.  But money is the most insecure thing in the world.  Jesus instead encourages us to be rich toward God.  (Luke 12:16-21) He tells us that “life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions.”

What does that mean?

Elsewhere the apostle Paul would write, “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus… 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Phil 3:13-21)

There is something more permanent, more satisfying, and more secure than money. And that is a relationship with Christ.  And that relationship is one that is full of hope rather than fear.  And Jesus reminds us of a coming judgment to help us put it all in perspective.

God and Football Part 2: Diagnosing and Treating our Obsession

By Pastor Matt Troupe

In a previous post, I talked about how football (a good thing), has become a bad thing for many through our obsession with it.  I really enjoy football, so I don't write this as some kind of sports-hater. But I write it as a man who has seen what happens when football comes before God and family. I have see the #footballwidow effect. And to be fair, these problems can just as easily be caused by NASCAR, soccer, fishing, etc.

How can you know if football is a false idol in your life? Here is the big idea, if you are giving to football what belongs to God, it is an idol. If you are giving to football what belongs to other priorities (like your family), it is an idol. In the next post I will offer some diagnostic questions and give some direction on what to do.

Here is the big idea, if you are giving to football what belongs to God, it is an idol.

If you will change your schedule, take days off of work, and sacrifice other committments to watch football, but you don't make time to gather with God's people for worship and fellowship, football is an idol. If you will take 4 hours to watch a football game, but you won't take 40 minutes for an important conversation with your wife, one that will cultivate your marriage and build her up, then football has become an idol.

If you will spend piles of money, and even go into debt in order to buy game tickets, large-screen TVs, or play fantasy football, but you don't give generously to the poor and the church in order to advance the kingdom, then football is an idol. Where your money is there your heart will also be.

If you will spend hours talking to your friends about football, reading blogs and listening to commentary, but you don't have time to have a real conversation with your children about the important things in their lives, then football is an idol.

If you are more emotionally, and mentally invested in football because your team is doing well than you are about the glory of God, football is an idol. If you're more upset when your team loses than you are about the very real evil and injustice in the world, then the idol of football has metastasized into your affections.

If you are serious about figuring this out, you won’t be able to do it on your own.  You you need help. Don’t trust yourself. Idolatry is always creates blind spots. Don’t ask an alcoholic if he has a problem. He either doesn’t see it or will lie to cover it up.  You need other people to help you discern this.  What would your wife say if you asked her? AND what would she say if you told her you wouldn’t punish her for telling you the truth?  What would your kids say?

I can tell you as a former idolater (and one that is locked in an ongoing battle against it) that there is hope. And the good news is that a life of love and service to Jesus is not only the right thing to do, it is much better. 

If you find that any of this is true, the first thing you need to do is agree with God and confess that your heart is in the wrong place. You need to say the “s” word- SIN. Ask for forgiveness. Idolatry is a big deal.  God’s mercy is great, even for fools who worship sports.  Confess your struggles to someone else. A good friend, or your pastor.

Then start doing what you know is right. This is the other side of repentance. Come back to Christ.  This means going to church as a priority, loving your family, etc.

I took an 18 year break from watching football when my kids were growing up. There wasn’t time to worship, work, and be the kind of husband and father I needed to be. The NFL doesn’t like to share.  Now I have more time, but looking back I don’t regret it at all. Is possible to enjoy football in moderation? Yes, but that depends on what is enthroned in the heart.

I would love to hear more about your experience.