Category: Devotions

Dear PBC family,

I have many conversations with people who are praying for someone close to them to get saved. And many times, it seems to be a hopeless situation. It could be a son or daughter with a hardened heart. Maybe it is a spouse who shows zero interest in spiritual things. Maybe it’s a close friend who used to follow Christ, but has turned their back on the Lord. These situations can feel hopeless, and one begins to think, “it will be a miracle if this person comes to the Lord.” 

Israel faced a similar situation. In Isaiah, Assyria and Egypt were mortal enemies of Israel. In the middle of judgment oracles against these nations. God promises a major change in Isaiah 19. He says,

“It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts… When they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. And the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them.” (Isaiah 19:20–21)

He goes on to promise that he will “heal” Egypt. Then the Lord ends the chapter by saying,

“Whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, ‘Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.’” (Isaiah 19:25)

One day in the future, after Jesus comes, Egypt, Assyria, and Israel (which represent the whole world) will worship together.

Keep praying, because with the Lord nothing is impossible. 

Blessings,

Jarred

Dear PBC Family,

“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” (Psalm 32:1–2)

Those who know the grace of God’s forgiveness can understand the pure joy evident in today’s passage, which was written by David after he experienced pardon for his sin. As he pours out his soul in rejoicing over the Lord’s grace, the king of Israel provides us with key instruction regarding the relationship of confession and repentance to forgiveness.

David begins with an expression of the blessedness of forgiven people, indicating that with the Lord, forgiveness entails both a covering of sin and not counting it to our records (vv. 1–2). The term covered comes from a Hebrew word that refers to the covering of shame by love in the act of forgiveness. So, when the Lord pardons His people, He stops counting their sin against them, and He hides their shame so that they may rejoice in His presence.

To be absolved of one’s guilt is to enter the realm of the Lord’s favor, and thus we must never forget the benefits of being in right relation to the Creator. Ultimately, forgiveness rescues us from the flood of God’s wrath. We can stand in right relationship to God only if the perfect obedience of Christ is put on our record. If this has happened, the Lord no longer counts sin against us.

Blessings,

Jarred

Daer PBC Family,

While on vacation last week, a terrible storm rolled through the place where we were staying and knocked the power out. Remember that the temperatures were in the upper 90’s. It was toasty – to say the least. The next evening the power came on at 6 and the air conditioners ran for 30 minutes, then another storm rolled through and knocked the power out again. This one was accompanied by hail, and it seemed to me that there may have been a tornado because the wind changed directions. The next morning a manager told me that it looked as if a small tornado had come through.

I started thinking about how much damage can be done by the weather in just a couple minutes or even seconds. Storms and tornados (whirlwinds in the Bible) are a window into the power of God, and also into the judgment of God. The whirlwind is often used to describe the majesty of God:

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind…

Job 38:1

The Lord is slow to anger and great in power… His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

Nah. 1:3 

God’s judgment is also likened to a whirlwind:

For behold, the Lord will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.

Is. 66:15

Behold, he comes up like clouds; his chariots like the whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles…

Jer. 4:13

But for the children of the Lord, he is our protection from his judgment. Jesus shows his power over nature to protect his own in the Gospels. For example, in Matthew 8, while in a storm on the Sea of Galilee, the Bible says, “he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” (Matt. 8:26) 

We never need to fear storms, whether they are natural storms or the storms of God’s judgment. He is greater than any storm that we will face.

Blessings,

Jarred

Dear PBC Family,

If you had your choice, would you prefer to drink fresh cold spring water or lukewarm water that has been sitting in a cistern for a while? Easy question, right?

When he was taking a break from a hot and dusty trip, Jesus told the woman-at-the-well, “whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again” (John 4:14). In the next verse he told her, “The water that I will give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Every human is created with a spiritual thirst. The thirst is not condemned by the Lord, but people’s methods for satiating this thirst are often found to be wanting. Thus, Jeremiah speaks of Israel’s rejecting the best water available, a fresh water spring (the Lord), in favor of the low-quality water of a broken cistern (idols): “for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:13)

Not only do people go after things that are less satisfying (money, career, fame, prestige), but when they are accumulated, they run out. That is because cisterns always run out, but a spring never runs out of water. So anything that we pursue to quench our soul-thirst, other than the Lord, quickly becomes stagnant.

The only pursuit that truly satisfies is Jesus Christ, “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money… Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price… Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.” (Isaiah 55:1–3)

Blessings,

Jarred

Church Family,

Today is a good day to pause and give thanks to God for the United States of America and for the many blessings we enjoy as a nation. For nearly 250 years, God has been kind to preserve our country and allow us to live with freedoms that many people around the world have never known.

As George Washington once wrote, it is the duty of nations “to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God…to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.” That is a fitting reminder for us today.

As Christians, we remember that our first and highest citizenship is in heaven. Paul reminds us in Philippians 3:20 that “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Our ultimate hope is in Christ and His kingdom.

At the same time, we can joyfully celebrate the country God has placed us in. I am thankful to be an American. I am thankful for the freedom to worship, gather as the church, preach the gospel, raise our families, serve our neighbors, and seek the good of our communities.

I am also thankful for those who have served our country and helped preserve these freedoms. In my own family, my grandfather, father, stepmother, sister, two brothers-in-law, and several cousins have served in the military. I am grateful for their sacrifice and for the sacrifice of so many others.

So today, enjoy the celebration. Give thanks. Pray for our country. Love your neighbors. And rejoice that our greatest hope is secure in Jesus Christ.

Happy Fourth of July,

Pastor Scott