SEARCHLIGHT

 NOVEMBER 1, 2022 Luke 19:1-7 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” You are most likely famil

 OCTOBER 31, 2022 Matthew 9:11-13 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Jesus consistently modeled spending time with and developing relationships with those who were far from God; or at least those who were considered sinners by the religious  elite.  In fact, Jesus was harshly criticized for such a focus. Jesus responded to that criticism by sharing His purpose and challenging the critics to “go and learn" what Hosea 6:6 means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Jesus, here in this passage reveals the very heart of God to those present. God desires mercy, not sacrifice, is not just telling us that God wants us to love people more than he wants us to observe ritual holiness. It's telling us tha

 OCTOBER 30, 2022 I thought to conclude our series of Devotions this week  on Reformation themes I would share a song that really wraps up things quite nicely. May your Sunday be blessed as you worship God and God Alone. 

OCTOBER 29, 2022  “Salvation is by Grace Alone, through Faith Alone, in Christ Alone, according to Scripture Alone, for the glory of God Alone.” Today, a special Saturday edition of our Devotions, let us reflect together on the theme of “Glory to God alone.” The truth that the Reformers were most concerned to promote and what can be seen as the central theme of Scripture is soli Deo gloria — to God alone be the glory. Ephesians 1:17-21 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory , may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule

 OCTOBER 28, 2022 Romans 10:9-13 9If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Acts 4:11-12 11Jesus is “ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Colossians 1:16-17 “All things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” I Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Ch

 OCTOBER 27, 2022 2 Corinthians 12:9 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Timothy 1:9 9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time …” Ephesians 2:8-9 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast Yesterday we said that Faith was one side of a coin, and the other side of that coin was Grace. So lets reflect together on the flipside of that coin, the familiar word GRACE. Grace is a gift most of us do not know how to receive. We have been so flooded with the societal systems of give-and-get and work-and-earn that grace is a concept that is hard for us to grasp. Yet it is

 OCTOBER 26, 2022 Romans 1:16-17 16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Philippians 3:9 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. Ephesians 2:4-9  8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Faith Alone!  “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God ...” The word faith can have s

 OCTOBER 25, 2022 2 Timothy 3:15-17 “. . . from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?”            Jeremiah 23:29 Sola Scriptura is the Latin translation for Scripture Alone. This phrase means that God’s Word is sufficient and has the highest authority for all of life. This does not mean that the Bible is clear on every issue or question we have. However, Sola Scriptura means that the Bible is the reliable Word of

 OCTOBER 24, 2022 Our Devotions this week will focus on the key teachings and encouragement that come to us out the historical period know as the Reformation. I suppose I should tell you that a question prompted my preparing this series of devotionals. The question was REFORMATION? Why should I care? Why should we care? Why should many Christians pause in late October every year to recall, reflect and remember the events and teaching of the Reformation? My prayer is that by weeks end we will be able to answer these questions and be able to acknowledge why this act of remembering is a worthwhile exercise. Today I want us to reflect on the value and importance of God’s Word. The teaching that came out of the period of the Reformation was captured in this phrase “By Scripture Alone.” I was reading the other day about the praise that was being heaped on Martin Luther, a key leader during this period, for his work and the outcome of that work which resulted in a significant change in the li

 OCTOBER 21, 2022 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We end the week of reflections with these words above from 2 Corinthians 5. What a beautiful, comforting and magnificent message we find in this text. We have been reconciled to God through Christ and God, in His grace, longs to use us as His ambassadors of reconciliation. This is a special text for our congregation. We call ourselves, AMBASSADOR Community Church, and the term Ambassador is not referring to the Bridge that we cross to visit our American family and friends. It is not to some how communicate our geographical location of Windsor On. Rather, the name Ambassador points us to the last lin

 OCTOBER 20, 2022 Mark 1:17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” Jesus’ invitation to fishermen Simon and his brother Andrew shows that, not only did Jesus seek them out, but He would also send them out to seek others. This week we have been looking at those that God seeks out and finding our story and experience of grace in the story of Adam and Eve, and the image of sheep and the Good Shepherd who gives his all to clear the way for us to return to our Loving God and our proper place at home in intimacy with our creator. Experiencing this amazing grace, this life changing love, can be contagious. We want others to learn and discover this good news. The word contagious makes us think of spreading a virus, and the potential of making others ill. What if we were to think of being contagious in another way, what if we were talk about Contagious Christianity. Spreading the good news of God’s love in “word and deed.” Sharing our own story of grace, sp

 OCTOBER 19, 2022 John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Let start today by considering our own tendencies to wander from God. Think about a moment when “prone to wander” played out in your life and think about how the knowledge and pursuit of God’s love and grace drew you back more closely to him. Take a moment right now and give thanks for God’s provision and care of you his precious child. (PAUSE) John 10 reminds us that Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd, laid down His life for you and me. He pursues us when we are lost and have relapsed into our wandering ways. What is the characteristic of a shepherd? The answer to this is revealed in scripture, think about how King David portrays God as the shepherd in Psalm 23. There the shepherding God, provided nourishment and rest. He guided them, leading the way. He was intimately involved with the flock and concerned for the safety of everyone. He was willing to sacrifice his own comfort, even

  OCTOBER 18, 2022 Isaiah 53:6  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Yesterday we looked at Adam and Eve and their hiding from God because of disobedience. Yet the Creator, out of love seeks them and calls out to them. Our God is a God who seeks and pursues us out of love, we said. In our verse today from that beautiful passage in Isaiah 53, we see a comparison made between sheep and humans. Those who tend sheep say that they will wonder off out of fear, lack of attention, something catches their eye and they want to inspect it, need more personal space, or they are not walking straight. So, Isaiah 53 says “we all” have gone astray and turned to our own way. Perhaps, you have sung these words at church, “Prone to wander Lord I feel It, prone to leave the God I love.” Sounds like the description of the sheep above doesn’t it? Elsewhere in the song we sing and acknowledge that without God’s grace

 OCTOBER 17, 2022 Genesis 3:8-10  Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid. Have you ever felt like Adam and Eve did in this circumstance? They knew they had done the very thing God had commanded them NOT to do. And they, filled with shame and feeling exposed, hid from God. Rather than going TO GOD, they went FROM GOD. I believe it is easy for us to get in the mindset that we need to hide our sin from God. But these verses gives us insight into God’s heart on the matter of our "falling short," of when our choices do not line up with God's intent for us. We see that God sought out Adam and Eve. He knew precisely what they had done and the shame they were feeling because of it. Yet in His love, God

 OCTOBER 14, 2022 Deuteronomy 24:17–22 17 “You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pledge. 18 Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this. 19 “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings. 20 When you beat your olive trees, do not strip what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. 21 “When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. 22 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this. ___________ Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there.   Deuteronomy 24:18. I find it amazing ho

 OCTOBER 13, 2022 Philippians 2:12–16 12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence but much more now in my absence, work on your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without murmuring and arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world, 16 holding forth the word of life so that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. __________________________ … children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.                                                                      Philippians 2:15-16 I like that phrase, “you shine like stars in the universe’. I recall laying on the

 OCTOBER 12, 2022 Psalm 111 1  Praise the Lord. I will extol the Lord with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly. 2 Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them. 3 Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever. 4 He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate. 5 He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. 6 He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations. 7 The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. 8 They are established for ever and ever, enacted in faithfulness and uprightness. 9 He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever— holy and awesome is his name. 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal pr

 OCTOBER 11, 2022 This has become one of my most meaningful Thanksgiving Prayers based on Psalm 100. I hope you find these good words helpful in expressing your thankfulness as we end our series on Thanks. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! For all the times we laughed till our sides ached; for all the times we were troubled, and friends we didn't even know we had sprang up from nowhere and ministered to us; for all the times we could have chosen evil over good, but didn't; for all the times we could have been hurt, but weren't; O Lord, we thank you. Know that the Lord is God! It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. For the sheer wonder of our creation, preservation, and redemption; for the privilege of prayer, the gift of the Spirit, and the gifts of the Spirit; for the everlasting arms beneath us, the watchful eye above us, the friends around us

 OCTOBER 10, 2022 I pray that you have or had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend filled with many blessings. GENESIS 1:12c And God saw that it was good. MARK 6:37-44 37 But Jesus said, “You feed them.” “With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!” 38 “How much bread do you have?” he asked. “Go and find out.” They came back and reported, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish.” 39 Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred. 41 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share. 42 They all ate as much as they wanted, 43 and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish. 44 A total of 5,000 men a

  OCTOBER 8, 2022 Gracious God, you supply us with blessings beyond our deserving. We thank you for your creation and every sign of your presence within it, for your everlasting grace and forgiveness, for the risen Lord, who has gone before us and calls us to follow him. We thank and praise you, O Lord our God. For our homes and our loved ones, for work to do, and strength to do it, for moments of gladness that sparkle our day, we thank and praise you, O Lord our God. For our faith and all that sustains it, for all whose lives and examples have persuaded  us that the journey is worth the taking,  for your caring discipline that keeps our faith pure, we thank and praise you, O Lord our God. For the depths of the sea where our falseness lies buried, for the guiding comfort of your Holy Spirit, for the powerful promise of life everlasting, we thank and praise you, O Lord our God, Amen

  OCTOBER 7, 2022 Psalms 9:1 I will praise you, LORD,  with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things  you have done. If your doctor told you today that you had an enlarged heart, this would not be good news. Cardiomegaly is the medical term, this can lead to a significant list of problems. When it comes to your physical heart, you do not want it to be any larger than it is at present. However, when it comes to our spiritual heart, our inner being, our soul, enlargement is a good thing. In the Westminster Catechism there is a wonderful phrase used under the question "How are we to pray?" "We are to pray, it says with “thankful, and enlarged hearts.” I like that wording, it speaks to the benefits of Thankfulness and Gratitude. Gratitude enlarges our hearts, making us more open, more thoughtful, more loving. Our bible passage for today asks us to consider how important Thank You is. “I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wo