Reid Hughes

It was amazing in our first tour last night…..“Veritology: the Study of Truth”. A couple of things really hit me hard as I was thinking.

First, the question of why Jesus came into the world. In John 18:33-38, Christ is questioned by Pontius Pilate. It is here in verse 37 that Jesus said, “…for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.“ How many of you (like me…admit it ) thought “Jesus came into the world to….” fill in the blank (“to save me”; “to redeem mankind”; “to remove my sin debt from me”; and on and on. All the above are true and good purpose statements. But Christ said in John 18:37, his purpose for coming into this world was “to testify to the truth.” That being a true purpose statement, Christ is revealing truth to us; which means there must be untruth or deception deeply entrenched in our world. Christ came to save us from deceptive untruths! For man to think that he is inherently good and the pleasures of this world are good is the beginning of the cosmic deception that you and I fall into as innocent prey. Everything that God created in our world to be beneficial and enjoyed has been twisted and changed from God’s purpose to Satan’s man-centered purpose. Quoting Dr. Tackett from Romans 1:25 “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator,”.

Second, under the section entitled “How Does Mankind Deal with Truth”, Dr. Tackett presented a slide called the “Antithesis” of God’s design in dealing with truth versus the world’s design.

• When God calls for “unity”; the world calls for “division”
• When God calls for “diversity”; the world calls for “unification”

His presenting this antithesis of competing worldviews of truth will cause a believer to either live in what is the reality of truth based on God or fall into the worldview of Satan’s deception of “tolerance”.

Where will you stand and what do you BELIEVE?

More later………please give me your thoughts and comments!

No matter what 2009 had for me or you, this is a new year. God is a God of new beginnings; new starts; new forgiveness; and renewing. What will you believe God for this year. Let me know……

I was thinking about the days that we live in. These days seem to be creating so much uncertainty for people. Uncertainty about their jobs; uncertainty about their homes; uncertainty about their finances; and uncertainty about how these things will impact their relationships.

But these days really are not so different than days gone by. The Lord loves His people and always uses His people during times of uncertainty. But, we as His people, must believe His promises. I believe the Lord loves us so much that He will do whatever He can to draw us back closer to Him. Could it be that these financial uncertain times are God’s device to free us from self-sufficiency and back to being sufficient only in Him? Would we dare ask ourselves if we truly believe that He is able to provide for us? Think about it.

Well, we have just celebrated the first advent of our Lord Jesus. What a wonderful time with family and friends! I just don’t want to forget the essential of Christmas. The gift that God has given for us to receive in eternal salvation for all….if only each would receive His gift! What about you?

Have you received His gift this Christmas? It is free to all who will turn from going and living their own way and submit to Christ. Wow, why I didn’t receive His gift sooner!

Remember, there will be a second advent. But the second advent, He will not come as a baby, but as King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Maranatha!

I am amazed it is almost Christmas! It seems again this year that the busyness of the holidays has brought December 25 quickly to us. I just hope this Christmas will a time for all of us to slow down, stop, and reflect on what it means to us individually.

Simeon understood while he waited and watched for Christmas. He knew God was sending an unbelievable gift of care, protection, grace, joy, and abundance. Simeon watched and kept on watching….until the gift appeared. Then Simeon rejoiced in unbelievable, expressive way! Oh, I hope that we all rejoice when we understand and see the unbelievable, priceless gift of all time for all people! Merry Christmas!!

As I write this blog entry, I am reminded of how we as a body believe about why God has us here. It is one thing to say, “I so believe in our purpose statement at church.” It is totally different thing for each of us to say, “Lord, how do you want me to be a part of your purposes here at Hillview.” As I was praying today, the thought came to me, “Lord, do I live a life that loves you in my actions, thoughts, and ways? Lord, am I investing myself in discipling other believers to have a deeper relationship with You? Lord, am I praying, seeking opportunities that You provide me to share Christ and Your incredible salvation?” For each of us, we must ask ourselves these important questions. If Hillview is to embrace our God-directed purpose, then we all must ask ourselves these questions. Would you today??

As our current series Revival or Judgment is nearing its end, I am reminded of just how precious our time is. Pray that the Lord is preparing us for how He will use us in the days to come. That should be our priority. Hillview’s days are becoming very important as we demonstrate our surrender to the Lord and allow Him to use us. There are those out there who are hurting. Are they on your prayer card? Shouldn’t they be?

Lately, our study in 1 Peter has taken us to place and a word that causes quite a bit of tension for many of us….submit.

Submit or submission (as the text sometimes lists it) is a word that causes more than just the hair on the back of your neck to stand up! It seems that life today throws so many circumstances our way, that we just strive to stand our ground and not give in. Here lies the trap……surrendering to something that has been eating my lunch is not what I think is the wisest thing to do. No-dud……

But the truth is that surrender is the very thing that we must do. But I am not surrendering to someone who has done me wrong; I am not surrendering to a difficult circumstance that if I do give in, will bring an end to me. I am surrendering to the only one who can help and enable me….Jesus. As 1 Peter 2:21 taught us, Jesus is our example of surrender. It is in the very thing that we battle where we will find victory and peace.

What about you? What are you battling? Are you ready to surrender……but only surrender to Him. You will be amazed!

I was thinking about what Jesus said in John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” The word for love here is agape which is a benevolent love. This love is a type that is not giving what one wants, but what one needs. We demonstrate this love when we see and realize what someone else needs.

Jesus is moving us to think about others instead of just ourselves. I wonder…how will I demonstrate this love? If I call myself His disciple or ” a learning follower of one’s teaching”, then what is Christ teaching me in how I should demonstrate this love? If you are calling yourself a disciple of Christ, then join me and seek the Spirit’s leading to obediently meet someone else’s need. That takes sacrifice! That takes surrender! Well, will you join me and love someone today?

I have really been busy lately. How about you? I know, that is a dumb question. Now a days, everybody is busy doing something. Our jobs consume our time, our schedules are crammed with running here and there, and our families…well they get the left-overs. Wow, I just tired writing about it!

I have come to believe that our busyness is a tool of destruction. It can destroy my physical health. It can destroy my relationships with my family, and it can destroy my spiritual life as well. It is time for us to decide what are my priorities in life. Without a doubt when I think about what my priorities should be…it brings me back to God. The quality and quanity of time that I spend with Him will directly impact every area of my life. Why do I drift away from Him? Why do I let the demands of life draw me away from spending time with Him daily. If I drifted away from time with my wife and children, how do you think they would feel?

Please join with me and decide “what are my priorities?”. Then and only then can we live in relationship with the true source of fulfilled life, Christ alone.

What about you?