Monthly Archives: August 2014

WTTP FM Tower and Antenna Is Up!

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As some of you know, Calvary Chapel of Lima filed an application with the FCC in November 2013.  In December 2013 we received notice that we were granted a license to broadcast on frequency 101.1

The past several months have been spent learning new software and contacting dozens of ministries asking them to join our program line-up.  It has been a lot of work and a great joy to watch it grow.

In June 2014 we began our 24/7 web streaming programming on www.wttpfm.com Since then we have been tweaking the programming, learning what programs are a good fit for our vision and what programs are not.  We believe we have assembled one of the finest Bible teaching line-ups anywhere.

A big step was achieved this week when the tower and antenna were erected. The FCC has been notified of our impending launch on the “dial” at 101.1  Our hope and prayer is to engage the Lima area with the gospel as never before.  WTTP FM is poised to be a steady source of encouragement and equipping for our listeners.

We will provide more details soon about our terrestrial broadcast launch. Send your questions and/or comments to info@wttpfm.com  Thank you for your prayers and support of this outreach radio ministry.antenna close up

 

Comforting Those Who Mourn

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The media’s infatuation with and celebration of the life of Hollywood stars who die suddenly and unexpectedly is interesting on many levels.  My primary thoughts in the midst of the current misplaced angst has focused on eternity.  I have been reminded again of the unique comfort and peace that Christians have and the assurance of eternal life with God.

Wonderful and comforting are the truths for all who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  For Christ promises us life with Him for eternity. In light of this I want to remind all true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ of some simple truths.

The first thing I want you to know today is Jesus promises that every believer will experience a reception into the glory of God.

  • 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 says: “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who have fallen asleep, that you may not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.”

The Apostle Paul wrote these words to comfort Christians who had lost loved ones.  He wanted them to know that when believers die they go to be with God.

Other passages of Scripture confirm this truth.  For example, in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 we read that to be “absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”

In Philippians 1:23 Paul tells us that when we depart this life we are with Christ.

The point is this – we need not sorrow like those who have no hope because the authoritative Word of God promises the believer an immediate reception in glory.

Now, a 2nd thing that I want you to know today is that God promises every believer a Resurrection body.

  • 1 Thessalonians 4:15-16 says: “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.”

These verses promise us that our Christian loved ones will receive brand new bodies when Jesus comes back to earth for all His children.  Revelation 21:3-4 describes this new body as:

  • free from pain
  • free from sorrow, crying, or tears
  • free from sin
  • free from death

So, when Christians leave this earth they go to be with the Lord.  And when Jesus comes back for His church they will receive brand new bodies fit for heaven.

Finally, the Bible promises us a reunion with Christ and with loved ones who have died before.  The Christian has a “homecoming” of sorts.

  • 1 Thessalonians 4:17 says: “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

So then, the Christian who dies has at least 3 very significant promises.

  • Of an immediate reception into God’s presence.
  • Of a resurrected body.
  • Of a reunion w/ Christian loved ones who have died before.

The reality of death is that it touches us all.  We cannot change that fact.  But, we can do something about eternity.  The promises of God are for all those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ.

There are several things I want you to be certain of today .… three absolutes from the word of God that provide great comfort in times of sorrow to those who have trusted in Him.

These three absolutes make up the cornerstone of an unshakable foundation that is found only in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

This relationship, what the believer refers to as his or her “salvation,” is a relationship that carries with it eternal benefits, and allows us to face death in a way we cannot understand apart from Jesus.

1) There is only one way to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

  • John 14:6 – Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.”

Jesus Christ is our mediator; He speaks on our behalf before the Father, to bring us into a right relationship with God. Jesus died on a cross that the sins of all those who will trust in Him would be forgiven, past, present and future. He was laid in a tomb, and after three days rose from the dead!

Because He conquered death, everyone who trusts Him as Lord and Savior conquers it too! This leads us to the second absolute we can be confident in:

2) We can face death without fear.

  • 23:4 – Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

What is there to fear when death has been conquered? Jesus walks with us through the darkest hours of our lives, and promises to stay with us, comfort us and bring us peace.

This is a peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4: 7). It’s beyond our comprehension, waiting for us when we become part of the family of God.

3) Nothing, not even death, can separate us from the love of God.

  • 8:38-39 – For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Our relationship with Jesus can weather any storm because it is not dependent on our strength, ability, craftiness, worthiness or any other attribute we may think we can offer. It is Jesus and Jesus alone.

When Christ returns to earth, as He has promised to do, to gather to Himself those who have trusted in Him, where will you be? Will you be drawn up into the sky to meet him?

I close with this instruction from the book of Romans:

…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

God bless you my friends.

CUT THE BAIT

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Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 1 Peter 1:13-15

The success of a fishing lure lies mainly in its ability to attract. The shiny spinners sparkle and move with the current of the water and as a result of the skillful fisherman’s hand. Once attracted the fish moves in for a closer look and ultimately makes the fatal decision to strike at what it believes to be an easy meal.  Too late does the unsuspecting fish feel the bite of the hook and the draw of the line that means the hunter has become the hunted.

My good friend Mike Reese, musician and songwriter as both a solo artist and member of the group Simon Peter, sings a song appropriately titled “Hooks” in which the following lyrics are haunting in their accuracy:

Some people say “It’s all in fun. Don’t get so serious if we get delirious, there’s no harm done.”

It may take years or just a day and what was once a game is now not quite the same.

It is a habit now that you find you can’t live without. And the deceitfulness of sin has got you again.

The chorus drives the point home:

Oh it’s so subtle, has such good looks.

It’s so wrapped up in the things we want,

We can’t see the hooks.

Christians often fall victim to the strategies of the enemy because they don’t see the hooks.  Sin is not something that the believer is to play around with thinking no one is being hurt and no one will ever know anyway. Those justifications are the “shiny spinners” the enemy uses to fish for believers who will take a second lingering look at the bait.

The Apostle Peter reminds us that believers are to prepare our minds to withstand temptations knowing that they will come packaged in ways that will attract our attention.  That is the meaning behind Peter’s admonition and warning that we must not “be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance.” The flesh will rear its ugly head and it is no accident that the temptation involves things from our life before Christ.

When the enemy flashes bait before your eyes remember that Christ set you free from every hook the enemy might send your way. Therefore, “be holy yourselves in all your behavior.”  In other words, cut the bait and move on to maturity in Jesus Christ.

 

GOD IS NEAR

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The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

The theological word for God’s nearness is immanence. This is closely related to another theological word that describes a characteristic of God – omnipresence. Have you considered God in this light? What are the implications of these characteristics?

Our verse from Psalm 34 tells us that God is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are burdened to the point of desperation, what the Psalmist describes as those “who are crushed in spirit.” This is a very frank picture of the human condition that many people experience at some point. For the writer of this Psalm – King David – it was a time of exceeding frustration and ebbing hope that gave rise to the penning of these words.  As David expressed his thoughts and emotions there arose within him an awareness of the nearness of God and the promises God had made to him concerning his own future.

It is very easy to become burdened down with the cares of life.  Everyone has bills to pay, appointments to keep, and responsibilities to fulfill. Day by day we focus on completing our tasks but over time we can become exhausted if we lose sight of why God saved us in the first place. We were made for so much more than debt, full schedules, and tasks that need completed. God saved us so that we might enjoy a close, intimate, and personal relationship with Him.

What compassion is this that God our creator would still remind us even when we allow our lives to become an endless parade of frustrating struggles that He is present for us and with us? Our God is not “an I told you so” God, but is instead full of mercy and patience, ever reaching out to His children.

Have you allowed your relationship with God to suffer at the hands of your schedule or responsibilities? Do you find yourself troubled by your lack of closeness to God? Are you suffering under the weight of life?  Cry out to God who is near.  He has never left you and stands ready to lift the burdens that crush your spiritual life.