Author Archives: Rev. Dr. David Bissett

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About Rev. Dr. David Bissett

I pastor a church in upstate NY. I'm happily married and the father of seven kids. It's fun, really! Leave me some feedback...

The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength

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In NEHEMIAH 8.10 the people of God are exhorted to let the joy of the LORD be their strength. Are you doing this? Even if you are a professing Christian, and know the grace of God, is it your great satisfaction to enjoy and delight in the Lord?

So helpful to us in this regard are the writings of Pastor John Piper of Minneapolis, MN. His book DESIRING GOD (now in several editions and languages) is one of the most profound Christian writings of our generation. It presents the biblical call to delight in the Lord as “Christian hedonism” –— usurping a well known term for ‘pleasure-seeking’ — and directing us to seek our greatest pleasures in the Lord our God.

He states the very purpose of human life in the following declaration: The chief end of man is to glorify God BY enjoying him forever. In his book Piper speaks of CHRISTIAN HEDONSIM as a philosophy of life built on the following:

• The longing to be happy is a universal human experience, and it is good, not sinful.

• We should never try to deny or resist our longing to be happy, as though it were a bad impulse. Instead we should seek to intensify this longing and nourish it with whatever will provide the deepest and most enduring satisfaction.

• The deepest and most enduring happiness is found ONLY in GOD.

• The happiness we find in God reaches its consummation when it is shared with others in the manifold ways of love.

• To the extent we try to abandon this pursuit, we fail to honor God and love people. Or, to put it positively: the pursuit of JOY in the LORD is a necessary part of all worship and virtue.

I hope you will ponder the call of Nehemiah 8.10 — and become a Christian hedonist!

Pastor David

Streams & Flowers in the Desert

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Yesterday we read ISAIAH 35 in our morning worship service. It speaks of of flowers blooming in the desert as one of the many splendors our God will perform. Others include the lame leaping like a deer, and the eyes of the blind opened.

Nothing is too difficult for the Lord our God.

ISAIAH 35 goes on to encourage us: “Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way, say to those with fearful hearts, Be strong, do not fear.” (As one of our elders read those words and I followed along, a marvelous sensation of peace flowed into me — a real blessing I would wish everyone to find as they read and believe these words).

ISAIAH 35 includes a challenge as well — “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness… it will be for those who walk in that Way”. Those who particpate in this vista of peace and joy are those who will walk (~live) in the way that God has set forth (~in the BIble).

Trust Him, obey His Word — and be richly blessed.

Notice, though, that the way is through the wilderness, and travellors may grow weary (that’s where the offer of strength comes in handy!). So do not imagine the “way of holiness” to be easy going — just the right way, with wonderful companions, and the manifold, splendid blessings of God.

So trust in the wonderful powers of our God, and be strong in the grace He provides — and faithfully walk in holiness before our heavenly Father.

Pastor David