There was a time in my life when I was afraid to give all of who I was to God. In many ways, I still loved the world and was worried about what would happen when I truly relinquished control of my life to Christ. I didn’t want to lose the reigns or those cherished sins that I made excuses for and didn’t want to let go of. My life was an un-submitted life in which I offered the devil very little resistance. Therefore, it was a life that was lacking in spiritual power.

Yet in his epistle, James relays to us an incredible promise of God. He says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Deep in our hearts we all crave nearness with God because there is an unhappy void; a God-shaped hole that we are helpless to fill. Blaise Pascal said it best when he wrote:

“What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.”

James offers us hope of the nearness of God. But our hands must be emptied of the counterfeit before they can be filled with the blessings of God; our hearts must have sin removed from them in order to make way for the presence of God; we must be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we can begin to think like Christ. And therefore James says, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

I remember that when I truly gave my life to Christ, what felt like an incredible weight was lifted off my shoulders. There are no other words to explain it other than that I felt a tremendous release from the burden of sin. God did lift me up that day. And He promises to lift up all who come to Him in this kind of surrender. Are you near Him today?

Almighty God of truth and love,
to me thy power impart;
the mountain from my soul remove,
the hardness from my heart.
O may the least omission pain
my reawakened soul,
and drive me to that blood again,
which makes the wounded whole.
(Charles Wesley)

​Pastor Cameron Ury
Senior Pastor and Teacher at Renton Park Chapel
(425) 255-5272‬
16760 128th Ave. SE
Renton WA 98058
United States​

When we come into a relationship with Jesus Christ, one of the things that we discover is that He wants access to every area of our lives, which includes our minds. He wants to transform the way we think and perceive the world around us. And that transformation and renewal of our minds begins with attaching ourselves to what is the source and definition of all truth.

Now, how Christians understand truth is very different from how the world understands truth. For the world, knowing truth merely involves understanding various facts and principles and data. Yet in Biblical Jewish culture, the idea of knowing (“yada”) is radically different. To “know” something in the Hebrew mind means to bind yourself in an intimate relationship with something. When Adam “knew” his wife, it was more than just cognitive knowledge. No, it was a uniting of the body, mind, and spirit with one another that was so complete, the two ceased to be understood as individuals and were instead called “one flesh”. Knowledge (in the Hebrew mind) is therefore always relational. In the book of Proverbs, wisdom is personified as a woman who cries out for the simple to hear her voice and to turn to her and embrace her; to come into a relationship with her. And this is more than figurative. For the Israelites, truth was more than just an abstract reality. No, truth is a reality intimately tied to and defined by the personhood of God.

What Proverbs reveals to us is that the source of all knowledge and wisdom is God Himself and the attachment of our lives to Him. This is why the book of Proverbs opens by saying: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; (Proverbs 1:7a ESV).

In the New Testament this concept becomes sharpened when God comes in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. In response to a question from Thomas, it says: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6b ESV)

So for us as Christians, truth is more than just a right system of thought. No, truth is a person. And therefore, our pursuit of knowledge must begin with a relationship with Jesus. Richard Foster writes so poignantly in his book Celebration of Discipline how salvation comes to us: “Jesus made it unmistakably clear that the knowledge of the truth will set us free. ‘You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free’ (John 8:32). Good feelings will not free us. Ecstatic experiences will not free us. Getting ‘high on Jesus’ will not free us. Without a knowledge of the truth, we will not be free.”

The question of how healthy our relationship with knowledge, and truth, and wisdom truly is is directly dependent on our relationship with Jesus. It is in and through submitting our lives to Him that we come into a relationship with Truth itself and have the doors of our hearts and minds opened to receive the light of His understanding. Let us seek to know Him more fully every day.


​
Pastor Cameron Ury
Senior Pastor and Teacher at Renton Park Chapel
(425) 255-5272
16760 128th Ave. SE
Renton WA 98058
United States 

​    Not long ago somebody asked me a very open and honest question, which boiled down to this: Why is it that the Church seems to be losing its ability to affect culture. And this is a good question, especially as we have been celebrating as a Church the season of Pentecost; when the Holy Spirit came and birthed the Christian Church. We look and see the explosion of growth that took place in the early church; how people were changed; how communities were changed; how cities were won; then nations; and eventually much of the world. Christianity spread like an uncontrollable wildfire. But now in our nation we as the Church seem to find ourselves struggling to maintain the ground we already have, much less gaining new ground. And the ground we have seems to be slipping away day by day. What is the source of spiritual power and how can we get it back into the Church so that it can once again begin to affect culture on a large scale?
    First of all, the key to having spiritual power lies in our relationship to the One from whom spiritual power comes from; the Spirit of God. When the Holy Spirit came, He consecrated the Christian Church, setting it apart as holy unto God. It was no longer conformed to the pattern of the world, but became conformed to the image of Christ. It was in and through the Church’s being set apart to Christ and conforming to His image that it found its spiritual power. So the question comes down to this: “Are we truly consecrated to Christ?” Do our minds, our hearts, our patterns of behavior, our use of finances, and especially our use of time reflect a life consecrated unto God? Does what I fill my time with build me as a Christian or steal the opportunity for God to give me something truly good?
    As a pastor, I have found that one of the chief causes of relational discord between couples is caused by a breakdown in communication. When we cease to communicate and give of our time, we lose closeness and intimacy. And this is true in our relationship with God as well. I am finding more and more that the most sacred and important thing we can give God is our time; time in the Word; time in prayer; time in communal worship. In and through these means of grace we are brought into the very presence of God; and it is in His presence that we discover His power made available to us in Christ Jesus.
    Now the question remains as to how Christians can bring lasting change to culture. It may surprise us to discover that it begins not on a large scale, bit rather with the individual person. One man who has had an incredible impact on my life is Christian thinker and scholar Dr. Dennis Kinlaw, former president of Asbury University and founder of the Francis Asbury Society. He said something in his book This Day With The Master that has forever changed my thinking concerning how change in culture happens. He says:

“We live in a day when most people believe that institutions are the determining factors. They declare that if we could just change institutions, then we could change society. This is the appeal of the politician. Scripture tantalizes us with the amount of space it devotes to individual people rather than institutions. People seem to be the tools that God uses to bring change. The implication is clear. Ultimately, persons determine institutions; institutions do not determine persons. The decisions that are made deep in the heart of an individual in the intimacy of aloneness with God are the decisions that will be historically significant for deciding the future.” 

    Now Kinlaw is right. The key to bringing spiritual power back into our churches and lasting change to our culture is found in our first becoming consecrated to God in our own personal lives; making the decision to conform to His image and cut off those influences in our lives that compete with Him. This may mean giving up many of the things we listen to and watch. Yet in and through that sacrifice we find the key to spiritual power; and we cannot even begin to imagine what God can do through us if we allow Christ to consecrate us unto Him. John Wesley said, “Give me ten men that hate nothing but sin and love nothing but God and we will change the world.” It is important to note that Wesley did reshape much of the world; and he did this by pointing people back to the heart of the Gospel, which is consecration and holiness. And this should cause us to realize that if we as individuals give ourselves to God like that, history cannot help but repeat itself.


​Pastor Cameron Ury
Senior Pastor and Teacher at Renton Park Chapel
(425) 255-5272‬
16760 128th Ave. SE
Renton WA 98058
United States​

    A while back I had found what I thought was a great illustration of sin vs. righteousness. A Cherokee elder was teaching his children about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to them. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.” The grandchildren thought about it and after a minute one of them asked, “Which wolf will win?” The elder simply replied, “The one you feed.” “The one you feed.”
    Now I thought that illustration was pretty good; and so I shared it with a dear mentor and friend of mine who so graciously said to me something I will never forget; he said, “Yes, but the black wolf has to die.” And what he meant was that it is not enough just to try to keep the sinful nature in you weak. No, what he was saying was, “Christ must be allowed to kill that black wolf.” It cannot remain in you anymore. Your sinful nature has to die; and until then you will never be truly free. And I have always appreciated that comment. Why? Because many Christians so often times live in spiritual turmoil, wrestling with two natures inside of them. They know the good they ought to do, yet find themselves continually unable to do it. This is because even though they may have been forgiven for their sin by the blood of Jesus, they have never allowed Christ to do that inner work of cleansing that deals with the very power of sin itself. If we ever want to be made truly free, we must allow Christ to do that second work in us. As Christ Himself was crucified, so also God calls for us to crucify all sin in our hearts.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:24-25 NIV)

    Now the second part of that verse is remarkable, because inherent in the command to keep in step with the Spirit is the implication that we can do so. If we abide in Christ, we can experience that freedom from the tyranny of the black wolf. We can keep in step with the Spirit. But we have to come to the point where we say, “Jesus I need to put off the old and put on the new. I don’t want to live under the power of sin any longer; I want you to crucify sin in me, fill me with your Spirit, and set me free to live a life that is truly free in you.” ​

    When we come to this point of full surrender, He will raise our hearts to new life. We will shed our filthy rags and He will clothe us with His own righteousness; and the abiding presence of His Spirit will renew us daily in His image. Thanks be to God for this freedom made available to us in Christ through the person of the Holy Spirit!

Pastor Cameron Ury
Senior Pastor and Teacher at Renton Park Chapel
(425) 255-5272‬
16760 128th Ave. SE
Renton WA 98058
United States​

​    Today, of course, is the National Day of Prayer. And for Christians, it is a time to gather together and collectively intercede before the Lord on behalf of our families, our nation, and the world. Because in every true Christian’s heart burns the desire to see our nation healed and restored by the all-powerful hand of God. 
    Now one of the most unique aspects of the Christian faith is that God both hears and answers our prayers, not based on any selfish need on His part but rather simply because He loves us and longs to meet our needs and to take us under His wing and make us His own. And though God’s judgment on sin is real, He will always deal graciously with those who cry out to Him.
    In the thirty-second chapter of the book of Exodus, Israel sinned by making for themselves a golden calf to worship. They had broken the Law of God given to them and engaged in heinous acts under the very mountain where the presence of God had come down to meet them in a special way and enter further into relationship with them. And so God is grieved and His righteous anger is kindled at their having so quickly turned from Him and His way. Therefore He tells Moses to step aside so that He might consume them. But Moses instead casts Himself upon the mercy of God and intercedes on Israel’s behalf. He implores God to turn from his burning anger and to relent from this disaster. And what is incredible is that God does! He listens to Moses and shows mercy instead of judgment. And so Moses became the mediator who stood in the gap on behalf of the people of Israel and helped mend the relationship between them and God.
    Now many of us know this story well. But what should challenge us the most, especially on this National Day of Prayer, is that God is still just as willing to respond to our prayers as He was then to the prayer of Moses. In the courtroom of God, He will still hear our testimony and will often allow His sentence to be changed if and when we cry out to Him. The question then becomes, are we as Christians being faithful to stand in the gap on behalf of our our family, our friends, our country, and the world? Are we being faithful to stand in the gap for those around us who are destined for the fire of the judgment of God? Or are we silent?
    We do not need to ask if it is God’s will to show mercy in any given situation or to any given people. The answer is always yes. If God was willing to have compassion on and turn away His destruction from Nineveh in and through the ministry of Jonah, we can know that He wills to do the same for us as a country and for every individual as well. Let us therefore be faithful to stand in the gap and offer up our intercession!

​Pastor Cameron Ury
Senior Pastor and Teacher at Renton Park Chapel
(425) 255-5272‬
16760 128th Ave. SE
Renton WA 98058
United States​