Northside Presbyterian Church

Northside Presbyterian Church Families in fellowship serving Christ in community.

WHAT WE CARE ABOUT – CORE VALUES
THE ONE: Sin is the problem and Jesus is the answer

TRUTH:
Honest about the Word of God 2 Tim 3:16-17
Honest about the Gospel 1 Cor 15:1-4
Honest about our sin Genesis 1:26, 27; Romans 3:22, 23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1–3, 12

LOVE:
Love God Dt 6:4-7
Love our neighbor

Mt 22:37-39

COMMUNITY:
Living family Rom 12:4-5; Eph 3:6



WHO WE ARE:
Families in fellowship serving Christ in community

A WEEKLY DEVOTION FROM PASTOR PAUL TRAUB.FIGHT LIKE HEAVEN2 Timothy 2:9… But the Word of God is not bound!One of the com...
02/24/2021

A WEEKLY DEVOTION FROM PASTOR PAUL TRAUB.

FIGHT LIKE HEAVEN

2 Timothy 2:9
… But the Word of God is not bound!

One of the commonly used phrases appearing now across various media is, “words have consequences.” The American satirist and columnist, Ringgold Lardner, once wrote:

"You know they's lots o' words that's called fightin' words. Some o' them starts a brawl, no matter who they're spoken to."
Gullible's Travels, Etc., (1917).

Apparently, these days the verbal currency that carries the most value is outrageous criticism, even if it is only dubbed such by the royal and sovereign news media. Have you noticed that the term of choice describing the nature of comments on either side of an issue is, “slamming”? Is it possible to slam one’s opponent constructively? Can we slam with kindness or Love? Obviously, commentators have a vested interest in cultivating the scrum by slamming the slammers; that is, to breed anger. “Them’s fightin’ words!”

Paul warned a young soldier that the scrum will suck you into it. You can be so infected by rage that you will take off, guns a blazing, and blowing fire while you chase the clouded enemy. The bullets do nothing.

Timothy, like a young pilot, was brave, eager, and well trained having served alongside Paul for about fourteen years. He received two letters from his instructor as he prepared to accept his own command. The second was written by Paul from prison where he was bound and awaiting ex*****on. In it, Timothy is reminded of the power of God’s Word (scripture), its influence on our words (preaching), and on personal holiness. The Word, and our words have consequences.

Paul writes:

LISTEN TO ME
2 Timothy 1:13
Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

TAKE ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE LIVING WORD
2 Timothy 2:1
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

BEAR THE CROSS
2 Timothy 2:3
Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

FOCUS
2 Timothy 2:4
No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the One who enlisted him.

REMINDER OF THE GOSPEL AND ITS POWER
2 Timothy 2:8-9
Remember Jesus Christ,
risen from the dead,
the offspring of David,
as preached in my gospel,
for which I am suffering,
bound with chains as a criminal.
But the Word of God is not bound!

This here is the cornerstone of Paul’s message to Timothy. He is telling Timothy that, “I preached it, I am bound in chains for it, and you could be bound also.” Regardless, nothing can stop the unbound living Word of God to gather the sheep given to Jesus Christ.

About words, Paul goes on:

2 Timothy 2:14
Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.

2 Timothy 2:16-17
But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene.

2 Timothy 2:23
Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.

AND THERE IS THIS WARNING
2 Timothy 3:1-5
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

“Unappeasable” in this list strikes me as particularly treacherous. It will not be possible to satisfy the hate-lust of those who seek to silence the gospel. This echoes the decline of man and the depravity Paul describes in Romans 1.

2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

PAUL’S CHARGE TO TIMOTHY CONCERNS HIS WORDS.
2 Timothy 4:1-3
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

Scripture is “profitable”; that is, it WILL work to God’s purpose. People will run from the Word, they will try to “cancel” it, edit it, legislate against it, shame those who read, follow, love, and speak it. But, as history has demonstrated, and as God has promised, nothing can separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus, and nothing will extinguish the gospel. That battle is already won by the Almighty God who has overcome the world (John 16:33).

Paul used the metaphor of a soldier in this epistle. This is consistent with the rest of scripture and is meant to encourage Timothy, and us. The concept of the Divine Warrior in connection with salvation, and therefore, our source of strength, originates in Exodus and continues through the Old Testament.

Exodus 15:2-3
The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name.

We need to remember this because we might be discouraged by Paul’s warnings to Timothy. The soldier metaphor might seem more uncomfortable than we would like. But there is a massive difference between a Christian taking on the armor of God and wielding the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and a person taking on the armor of an earthly army, wielding a merely metal sword, slamming us with bullets, corrupt laws, and media’s words. The strength of an earthly general and an earthly army lies in the strength and number of the troops. But in our battle, every bit of strength, every ounce of skill, all wisdom, clarity, timing, strategy, and ex*****on is blasts out of the infinite and perfect mouth of the LORD who spoke the universe into existence. For some, they will wish it were but only a tongue of fire.

The LORD can handle whatever bad-guy is torturing, tormenting, taunting, teasing, or tweeting torpedoes at his children. What would you do if someone was messing with YOUR kids?

He, The LORD is our strength, and his Word is not bound!
Words have consequences!

Running with you in Love,
Pastor Paul

A WEEKLY DEVOTION FROM PASTOR PAUL TRAUB.DESPERATE WEEPING What does it take to make you cry; not tears of joy, but of s...
02/24/2021

A WEEKLY DEVOTION FROM PASTOR PAUL TRAUB.

DESPERATE WEEPING

What does it take to make you cry; not tears of joy, but of severe misery? What does it take to make you cry with those hard, uncontrolled, buckets of emotion that explode out of a heart gashed so deeply that your chest hurts and you labor just to breathe? What would make you wail in uninhibited bawling? One may very well feel in that moment that they are at the end. There is nothing left. All is lost and there is no hope. I remember when, as a child, a dog that I loved had been killed by a car. It was an explosive tragedy. As adults, our skin thickens in a way that an honest answer to my question evokes thoughts of life’s darkest storms. The exercise is uncomfortable.

If you cried like this, what would you expect God to do?

There was a lady, Ann. For years, she was the subject of relentless public humiliation and bullying. She undoubtedly felt that she was a laughing-stock. Her husband had another woman with whom he fathered several children, and Ruby was a mean woman. She bludgeoned Ann where it hurt the most. Ann could not bear children and Ruby openly and publicly lifted her children like trophies in front of Ann and all their friends. As one might expect, going to church was beyond agony. Her husband just didn’t get it. Apparently, he really loved Ann but he didn’t understand the consequences of what he had done. It seems to me that it was Ann whose company he preferred and it was she for whom he provided more generously than to Ruby and her children. Naturally, this would have stoked Ruby’s fire. Ann eventually had had it. She decided to do something.

Usually, stories like this start with something like, “Florida man, …,” and end with, “the body was never recovered.” In this case:

1 Samuel 1:10
She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly.

Ann, short for Hanna, is often cited as a heroine of the faith. Her circumstances were bad. First, she was childless which was a curse. Second, her husband awarded that job to another woman, and as if it could get any worse, Ruby (Peninnah means, Ruby) was apparently good at it. Third, Peninnah, her husband, and Hannah all understood that Hannah’s condition rested upon her by the hand of the LORD.

1 Samuel 1:4
On the day when Elkanah sacrificed,
he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and
to all her sons and daughters.

1 Samuel 1:5-6
But to Hannah he gave a double portion,
because he loved her,
though the LORD had closed her womb.
And her rival (Peninnah) used to provoke her grievously
to irritate her,
because the LORD had closed her womb.

Notice that Hannah’s husband, Elkanah, and Peninnah, her “rival”, dealt with her in exactly opposite ways, yet for the same reason; namely, “the LORD had closed her womb”. What did Hannah do? She could have been like Sarah who went to Abraham and told him to take care of this mess, but she didn’t. Through this ordeal, Hannah consistently rejected the offering portions from her husband. This was not a reflection on him, but rather a statement that she knew God was not blessing her. So, in the depths of her distress, Hannah went to the LORD. Weeping greatly, she managed to pray a prayer that contained the vow recorded in verse 11. Eli, the priest on duty, sees her greatly agitated and mouthing words he can’t hear. Lining up behind Peninnah to throw a few punches, he accuses her of drunkenness. Hannah meets his assault with humility and respect for his office and says:

1 Samuel 1:15-16
But Hannah answered, "No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation."

Eli, having heard neither the particulars of her anxiety, nor the petition of her prayer, pronounced a blessing on Hannah.

1 Samuel 1:17
Then Eli answered, "Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him."

Here is the key.
What did she expect God to Do?
Hannah had prayed her prayer in deep distress, crying herself empty.
She received the blessing and could leave in peace.

1 Samuel 1:18
And she said, [to Eli]
"Let your servant find favor in your eyes."
Then the woman went her way and ate, and
her face was no longer sad.

Look at what happened!
She ATE, and
She was no longer SAD!

It is so important for us to understand that God uses our afflictions to bring us closer to him and glorify his name. The LORD remembered Hannah and she had a son. His name was Samuel, the last Judge and the first prophet. He was a mighty man for the LORD. In time, Hannah was blessed with three sons and two daughters. Samuel is important, but today I ask you to rest your thoughts on Hannah, a woman of great affliction, a woman of great tears, and a woman of great faith, and also, a woman of great blessings.

Hannah went to the LORD with the problem.
Hannah trusted the LORD’s power to solve the problem.
Hannah worshiped and glorified the LORD.

What will you do when you feel like crying like Hannah?

Remember, God is
Perfect in his POWER, and
Perfect in his TIMING!

Peninnah, Ruby, was never heard from again as far as we know. Until, that is, Waylon Jennings and later, Kenny Rogers recorded that song!

Running with you in Love,
Pastor Paul

A weekly devotion by Pastor Paul TraubGOLD OR GODToday, 173 years ago, a rancher in California learned that gold had bee...
01/30/2021

A weekly devotion by Pastor Paul Traub

GOLD OR GOD

Today, 173 years ago, a rancher in California learned that gold had been found a few days earlier near his sawmill along the South Fork American River near Coloma, California. John Sutton and James Marshall, the carpenter who found the gold, tried to keep the discovery quiet. That was a fool’s ambition, for so was launched the California Gold Rush.

Nothing less than a stampede into California erupted in 1849, eventually drawing over 300,000 hopeful prospectors. It was the largest mass migration in U.S. history. The lure, or more accurately, the lust for wealth was the pandemic disease of the time. One editorial from the period casts the following indictment, “… the sordid cry of Gold! Gold! Gold! while the field is left half-planted, the house half-built, and everything neglected but the manufacture of picks and shovels.” One such crier was Samuel Brannon, a merchant who opened several stores to sell prospecting supplies. It is said that he, “walked through the streets of San Francisco, holding aloft a vial of gold, shouting "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!" Brannon became very wealthy selling gear and equipment to those who were lured westward and who swallowed his bait.

Jesus said:

John 12:32
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all [people] to myself."

Jesus was talking about his death on the cross and his resurrection. He was talking about his perfect atonement for sin by which he would be justified in saying, “It is finished” (John 19:30). He was also speaking of his resurrection and ascension whereby he was lifted up to glory and is seated at the right hand of the Father (John 10:3-4, 18; Hebrews 1:1-3). Further, Jesus promised that he will draw ALL his sheep to himself. Note: The word, “people” or “men,” is not in the text but is inserted in most translations. Jesus was describing his work as the Good Shepherd.

John 10:3-4
“To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”

What are people holding up to lure you?
What kind of gold is in their hands?
What promises are offered to the taker?

I have seen people raise:

Golden beauty nuggets
Golden home nuggets
Golden education nuggets
Golden spouse nuggets
Golden political nuggets
Golden health nuggets
Golden talent nuggets
Golden lifestyle nuggets …

What sayest thou?
Are you drawn?
Will it be GOLD or GOD?

Acts 4:12
And there is salvation in NO ONE ELSE, for there is NO OTHER NAME under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

There are many gold seekers today walking around waving their hands high clenching golden lottery tickets and golden Tesla stock. There is a fever, a gold rush that burns as hot as ever. Of the rushers of ’49 one wrote, “Many, very many, that come here meet with bad success and thousands will leave their bones here.”

Be sure of this, anything that you can hold up can not hold you up.

Paul raised no gold, only the holy Name of Jesus.

1 Corinthians 2:2
For I decided to know NOTHING among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Hear the voice of Jesus. He is the Good Shepherd calling his sheep, leading his sheep. Don’t rush to the gold, it will perish. Instead, “draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Ultimately, everyone is either drawn to GOLD, or to GOD.

Both John Sutton and James Marshall died poor. For them, every aspect of the California Gold Rush was a curse rather than any kind of good fortune.

Proverbs 8:18-19
Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver.

To God, be the glory!

Running with you in Love,
Pastor Paul

https://mailchi.mp/6d5a51562abe/gold-or-god

LOVE – IN A HARD YEARBy any reasonable assessment, 2020 has been a hard year. I know of no one who has arrived at today...
12/30/2020

LOVE – IN A HARD YEAR

By any reasonable assessment, 2020 has been a hard year. I know of no one who has arrived at today unbruised and unscarred by the shards of disaster, trouble, and misfortune that sprayed upon all of us throughout this year. We have prayed for each other. We have cared for those in trouble as best as we can. We have also received the same with gratitude and praise to the LORD. However, this year is coming to a close and much healing and clean-up remains. So, with this final piece for 2020 and the last in the year-long series on God’s never-ending LOVE, I want to mark an anniversary.

On this day, fifty-two years ago, the eyes of humanity were opened to something never before seen. It was a sight beyond iconic, and it changed our perspective on mankind. Upon that moment was laid the blessing of hearing God’s Word. Truth touched the ears of more human beings at that one moment than any other point in history prior, and most likely since.

The year was 1968. It was a hard year.

The War in Vietnam escalated especially after the Tet Offensive in January. In March, half of the inhabitants of My Lai were massacred by fires set by troops looking for Viet Cong. War protests became prevalent as many burned their draft cards. Racial and Civil Rights protests were widespread often turning violent. These were not limited to the United States. In Mexico City, thousands of students were killed or injured by police during a protest on October 2nd. There were industrial tragedies like the explosion at Consolidation Coal’s No. 9 Mine in Farmington, West Virginia in which seventy-eight miners were killed. And of course, it was an election year. The Democratic National Convention in Chicago brought together protesters and National Guardsmen. Hundreds of people, protesters, reporters, and delegates were clubbed and repelled by tear gas by the National Guard. And sadly, separated by two months to the day, two men were assassinated. April 4th, Martin Luther King Jr., was shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. June 4th, Robert F. Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

1968, it was a hard year.

As that year came to a close, three men left on a journey. It was dangerous but they were well prepared. The world watched as Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders, crew of Apollo 8 became the first crew to launch in the Saturn V rocket, the first crew to leave Earth’s orbit, the first crew to orbit another astronomical object (the Moon), which it did ten times, the first crew to perform an unassisted rocket burn, the first crew to pass through the Van Allen radiation belts, the first crew to see the far side of the Moon, and the first crew in human history to witness an “Earthrise”.

As they came around for the ninth time, the crew began a video transmission for television. "We were told that on Christmas Eve we would have the largest audience that had ever listened to a human voice," recalled Borman. "And the only instructions that we got from NASA was to do something appropriate."

After each crew member gave their impressions of the Moon’s surface, they announced that they had a message for all those on Earth.

On December 24, 1968, Earth heard this:

Genesis 1:1-10

[William Anders reading]
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

[James Lovell reading]
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day

[Frank Borman reading]
And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he, Seas: and God saw that it was good.

Commander Borman closed with:

“Good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas and God bless all of you—all of you on the good Earth.”

The picture captured on that flight is one of the most famous photographs in human history and it was released by NASA fifty-two years ago today, on December 30, 1968.

The World, it is the place of Genesis to Revelation. It is as Job describes; saying, “He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing” (Job 26:7). It is the place mentioned last week, visited by Angels, where to shepherds it was sung, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" (Luke 2:14). It is the place God so LOVED, “that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).

And so ends the year 2020.
And so his steadfast LOVE endures forever.

Running with you in Love,
Pastor Paul

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WHAT WE CARE ABOUT – CORE VALUES THE ONE: Sin is the problem and Jesus is the answer TRUTH: Honest about the Word of God 2 Tim 3:16-17 Honest about the Gospel 1 Cor 15:1-4 Honest about our sin Genesis 1:26, 27; Romans 3:22, 23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1–3, 12 LOVE: Love God Dt 6:4-7 Love our neighbor Mt 22:37-39 COMMUNITY: Living family Rom 12:4-5; Eph 3:6 WHO WE ARE: Families in fellowship serving Christ in community