NEW BLOG POST
Being a Gospel-GROUNDED Family
March 2nd, 2022
Hey Heartland Family! We cannot express how truly grateful we are for our new faith family here at Heartland. The scripture that comes to mind when we think about you comes from Colossians 1:3-4: “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints…” Thank you for loving us so well because of your first love being found in Christ.
I want to encourage each of you today, as you spend time with your family (and friends), to make the most of your time. Although this article is primarily aimed at families with children, the content can still be applied with other family, friends, neighbors, etc. Our families are our primary mission field. God has entrusted children to the watchful care of their parents. Let’s take a look at one of my favorite passages involving family, faith and an action plan for living a life devoted to God:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
The book of Deuteronomy contains Moses’ final address to the Israelites before they would cross over into the Promised Land. In addition to the containment of laws, Deuteronomy is focused on reminding the people of God. It reminded the people to not forget the bondage they were released from, to not forget the freedom that God had granted them, and to not forget that the Lord must always be at the center of everything they do moving forward. The highlighted passage for today (Deut. 6:4-9) is a great reminder for us in how to practice our walk with Christ. I love the exhortation in verse 4 to hear and know that the Lord our God is one. Verse 5 hones in on loving the Lord your God with ALL your heart, soul and might. This isn’t a half-hearted approach to the Christian faith. This is an all-in, completely sold out embrace of God and Who He is. Verse 6 is a wonderful reminder that God’s Word must ALWAYS be on our heart. We have the pleasure and privilege to hear and know God’s Word for our own hearts, and verses 7-9 are the evidence of our lives being grounded completely on The Rock. We have the great responsibility and privilege of teaching God’s Word to our own children, in our homes, out and about, when we are resting, and when we are getting up to start a brand new day. We are called to live a life that is immersed in God’s Word and to also share the hope we have in Jesus Christ with our families, friends and neighbors over a lifetime.
I don’t know about you guys but this passage produces a healthy conviction in my heart. I wish I could tell you that I ALWAYS teach and share scriptural truths with my kid’s in all circumstances, but I don’t. I wish I could tell you that I ALWAYS think of God’s Word and speak with Him in every moment of the day, but I don’t. God’s grace provides a means for us to make mistakes and still plod forward in our faith as we learn, adapt and lean into His strength more and more. As we rest in His strength we find ourselves relying less and less on our former selves to produce failed attempts at “doing good” in our own strength. I’m grateful that the Lord is producing an increasing desire to rest in His strength as I get older and listen more to Him. Church, be encouraged as we get to experience first hand discipling from the Holy Spirit when we interact with the Lord daily on a personal level. As we spend more and more time with the Lord, we will inevitably share more and more with our loved ones from God’s Word. When we teach His Word, we can do so selflessly because we are pointing to Him, not to ourselves. I hope and pray that you each have a wonderful day. I am grateful to do life with you all on this journey.
Grace and Peace,
Jake Waits
I want to encourage each of you today, as you spend time with your family (and friends), to make the most of your time. Although this article is primarily aimed at families with children, the content can still be applied with other family, friends, neighbors, etc. Our families are our primary mission field. God has entrusted children to the watchful care of their parents. Let’s take a look at one of my favorite passages involving family, faith and an action plan for living a life devoted to God:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
The book of Deuteronomy contains Moses’ final address to the Israelites before they would cross over into the Promised Land. In addition to the containment of laws, Deuteronomy is focused on reminding the people of God. It reminded the people to not forget the bondage they were released from, to not forget the freedom that God had granted them, and to not forget that the Lord must always be at the center of everything they do moving forward. The highlighted passage for today (Deut. 6:4-9) is a great reminder for us in how to practice our walk with Christ. I love the exhortation in verse 4 to hear and know that the Lord our God is one. Verse 5 hones in on loving the Lord your God with ALL your heart, soul and might. This isn’t a half-hearted approach to the Christian faith. This is an all-in, completely sold out embrace of God and Who He is. Verse 6 is a wonderful reminder that God’s Word must ALWAYS be on our heart. We have the pleasure and privilege to hear and know God’s Word for our own hearts, and verses 7-9 are the evidence of our lives being grounded completely on The Rock. We have the great responsibility and privilege of teaching God’s Word to our own children, in our homes, out and about, when we are resting, and when we are getting up to start a brand new day. We are called to live a life that is immersed in God’s Word and to also share the hope we have in Jesus Christ with our families, friends and neighbors over a lifetime.
I don’t know about you guys but this passage produces a healthy conviction in my heart. I wish I could tell you that I ALWAYS teach and share scriptural truths with my kid’s in all circumstances, but I don’t. I wish I could tell you that I ALWAYS think of God’s Word and speak with Him in every moment of the day, but I don’t. God’s grace provides a means for us to make mistakes and still plod forward in our faith as we learn, adapt and lean into His strength more and more. As we rest in His strength we find ourselves relying less and less on our former selves to produce failed attempts at “doing good” in our own strength. I’m grateful that the Lord is producing an increasing desire to rest in His strength as I get older and listen more to Him. Church, be encouraged as we get to experience first hand discipling from the Holy Spirit when we interact with the Lord daily on a personal level. As we spend more and more time with the Lord, we will inevitably share more and more with our loved ones from God’s Word. When we teach His Word, we can do so selflessly because we are pointing to Him, not to ourselves. I hope and pray that you each have a wonderful day. I am grateful to do life with you all on this journey.
Grace and Peace,
Jake Waits
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IT'S THAT TIME
February 2nd, 2022
I am going to lose 30 pounds. I am going to exercise more. I am going to eat out less and cook more at home. I am going to read the Bible in a year. I would imagine you’ve heard many of these resolutions already this year. I would even bet that you have one of these as your New Year’s resolution. You may have even already “changed” that resolution. None of these are bad things and I pray that you are able to keep all the resolutions that are edifying to the Lord. However, I want to speak about a different kind of resolve that I believe is an ever-encroaching reality for the Church here in the United States.
If you keep up on the news, I am sure you have already heard of the recent C-4 Bill in Canada. If not, I will briefly explain. This bill makes it illegal for anyone in Canada to practice or promote conversion therapy on anyone who is engaged in or is considering an LGBTQIA lifestyle. That sounds innocent enough, right? Wrong! The implication is that it is illegal to discuss biblical sexuality. This means that a Christian who communicates the biblical creation of male and female, and God’s design for marriage between only a male and a female as laid out in Genesis 1 and 2, would be breaking the law. Under C-4, this would be considered hate speech and would be punishable by up to five years in prison. The temptation could be to dismiss this as a Canadian problem that doesn’t affect us, but it’s not that simple. For starters, we live in a global culture and we are affected by happenings throughout the world. But this issue is also nearer to us than you might think. Did you know that saints in Lafayette, Indiana are fighting a very similar bill? Did you know that pastor John MacArthur’s sermon on the subject of biblical marriage was recently removed from YouTube? We must recognize that censorship and persecution have already arrived, and we must resolve ourselves to the Word of God.
Now, more than ever, we must daily consume the nourishment of God’s Word. We must resolve to be saturated in the gospel. As Ephesians 6:10-20 reminds us, we must put on the full Armor of God. Jared Wilson gives the following encouragement in his book, “The Pastor’s Justification” — “We must wear this armor constantly. We should never take it off. This is wartime. Don’t take the armor off.” (Pg. 103)
So, how are we called to practically engage the battle set before us. Acts chapter 4 gives us some insight into how we are called to engage the battle. It highlights 3 actions that must be on our radar. First, we must remain in Jesus. Acts 4:13 records, “When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus (emphasis added).” The point is clear: we must know Jesus and feed upon His Word daily, as we abide in Him.
Second, we must pray. I will admit that prayer is sometimes a struggle for me. But, it’s important to note that this second step flows from the first. How can we be with Jesus and not communicate with Him? Brothers and sisters, we get to be in a personal relationship with the God of the universe that is marked by intimacy! And, He hasn’t just granted us access to His presence, He has taught us how to remain in Him. As we’ve studied in the Psalms, we must cry out to God — who is our stronghold. He will hold us in His glory and grace under the guidance of His will.
Lastly, we must live out and share the gospel. Acts 4:29-31 records this: “And now Lord, consider their threats, and grant that your servants may speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand for healing, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of you holy servant Jesus. When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God boldly.” (emphasis added)
In the list of God’s Armor in Ephesians 6, the gospel is described as the sandals. That is because we live out the gospel in all that we say and do. It is important that we confront the culture, not by yelling back at it for how wrong it is. We confront the culture by speaking the truth of the gospel into it and by living a transformed life that is compellingly different. When we are asked about this difference, we get to boldly proclaim the redemptive power of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We get to tell them about the One who humbled Himself by living among us, dying for our sin, and raising from the dead to save our souls.
This is our resolve! This is how we engage in the battle against the principalities of darkness and the roaring lion. As Peter tell us, we must cast our anxiety upon Christ, for He alone is our stronghold. Let’s pray for one another to hold fast to Jesus and walk daily in the light of His glory and grace.
A Fellow Soldier In Christ,
Austin Strange | Pastoral Resident
If you keep up on the news, I am sure you have already heard of the recent C-4 Bill in Canada. If not, I will briefly explain. This bill makes it illegal for anyone in Canada to practice or promote conversion therapy on anyone who is engaged in or is considering an LGBTQIA lifestyle. That sounds innocent enough, right? Wrong! The implication is that it is illegal to discuss biblical sexuality. This means that a Christian who communicates the biblical creation of male and female, and God’s design for marriage between only a male and a female as laid out in Genesis 1 and 2, would be breaking the law. Under C-4, this would be considered hate speech and would be punishable by up to five years in prison. The temptation could be to dismiss this as a Canadian problem that doesn’t affect us, but it’s not that simple. For starters, we live in a global culture and we are affected by happenings throughout the world. But this issue is also nearer to us than you might think. Did you know that saints in Lafayette, Indiana are fighting a very similar bill? Did you know that pastor John MacArthur’s sermon on the subject of biblical marriage was recently removed from YouTube? We must recognize that censorship and persecution have already arrived, and we must resolve ourselves to the Word of God.
Now, more than ever, we must daily consume the nourishment of God’s Word. We must resolve to be saturated in the gospel. As Ephesians 6:10-20 reminds us, we must put on the full Armor of God. Jared Wilson gives the following encouragement in his book, “The Pastor’s Justification” — “We must wear this armor constantly. We should never take it off. This is wartime. Don’t take the armor off.” (Pg. 103)
So, how are we called to practically engage the battle set before us. Acts chapter 4 gives us some insight into how we are called to engage the battle. It highlights 3 actions that must be on our radar. First, we must remain in Jesus. Acts 4:13 records, “When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus (emphasis added).” The point is clear: we must know Jesus and feed upon His Word daily, as we abide in Him.
Second, we must pray. I will admit that prayer is sometimes a struggle for me. But, it’s important to note that this second step flows from the first. How can we be with Jesus and not communicate with Him? Brothers and sisters, we get to be in a personal relationship with the God of the universe that is marked by intimacy! And, He hasn’t just granted us access to His presence, He has taught us how to remain in Him. As we’ve studied in the Psalms, we must cry out to God — who is our stronghold. He will hold us in His glory and grace under the guidance of His will.
Lastly, we must live out and share the gospel. Acts 4:29-31 records this: “And now Lord, consider their threats, and grant that your servants may speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand for healing, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of you holy servant Jesus. When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God boldly.” (emphasis added)
In the list of God’s Armor in Ephesians 6, the gospel is described as the sandals. That is because we live out the gospel in all that we say and do. It is important that we confront the culture, not by yelling back at it for how wrong it is. We confront the culture by speaking the truth of the gospel into it and by living a transformed life that is compellingly different. When we are asked about this difference, we get to boldly proclaim the redemptive power of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We get to tell them about the One who humbled Himself by living among us, dying for our sin, and raising from the dead to save our souls.
This is our resolve! This is how we engage in the battle against the principalities of darkness and the roaring lion. As Peter tell us, we must cast our anxiety upon Christ, for He alone is our stronghold. Let’s pray for one another to hold fast to Jesus and walk daily in the light of His glory and grace.
A Fellow Soldier In Christ,
Austin Strange | Pastoral Resident
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