Thoughts from the weekend

Thoughts from the weekend

What a thrill it was to see three different generations of our church family baptized in water yesterday!

A youngster - Anthony Roebuck.

A 30 something man - Clif Novak

A 69 year old man - Arsenio Reyes.

Each of the testimonies were heartwarming and inspiring!

God is up to something good!

Congratulations to these three:  We rejoice with you at what God is doing in your lives!

It was my privilege to dedicate little Willem Insalaco as "unto the Lord" yesterday.

He is a beautiful baby boy.

One of the Insalaco boys was walking up to platform for the baby dedication (with the rest of the family) and after seeing all of the people being baptized in water, blurted out (on his way up the platform), "I don't want to take a bath".

I guess he thought we were going to dunk him as well.

Great stuff!

We love you Insalaco family!

Congratulations to our students who participated in Fine Arts this past Saturday.  We are proud of all of you!

Three of our youth group girls qualified to go to the National Fine Arts Festival in Columbus, Ohio:

Camryn Stuart for Flash Fiction (short story).

Bridget Cusack for Female Vocal Solo.

Marcella Herrera for Female Vocal Solo.

Applause and congratulations!

I appreciate all the prayers for me - and would ask that you keep on praying for my physical body.

We would encourage you to consider attending our leadership seminar this coming Friday evening at 7:00 P.M.  It is open to everyone - spouses included.

Dick Hardy is one of the foremost Assemblies of God church consultants that we have.

7:00 P.M.

We would also encourage you to "bring a friend" for one of our morning services on April 13th.  The vast majority of people accept Christ through a friend - especially a friend who invites them to "church."

Why not take a step of faith and not only invite a non-Christian friend but bring them as well?

You might be surprised at what the Holy Spirit can do.

Just an fyi:  Brian and Angela Bougher are coming to us this weekend.  Brian is our new worship pastor.  He officially starts in our church office this Friday - and will be working with Pastor Amanda through the month of April (Pastor Amanda's last Sunday is April 2th).

Brian comes to us with a wealth of experience (15 years) and is a godly, spiritual man of the faith.

Michigan State lost yesterday.  Really disappointing for us "Green and White Fans."

Baseball starts today!  Let's hope "real" spring weather is not far behind.

While the White Sox and Cubs will both be crummy this year - I still can't wait to get out and go to the ball park!

Love you all......

Walking in the boldness of Christ

Are you scared of the demonic?

Do you fear even talking about the devil and his demons for fear that they might overcome you?

Would you be hesitant in dealing with someone who is demon-possessed or minimally oppressed by the enemy?

C. S. Lewis once wrote that we often fall prey to two equal yet opposite errors concerning the Devil.

Sometimes we take him far too seriously. Other times we do not take him seriously enough.

So, the Devil is happy if you are preoccupied with him all day long.

And he's just as happy when you hardly give him a thought at all.

I believe that most of us fall into the latter error—we don't take him seriously enough.

We need to be reminded that Satan is a living enemy, crafty in the way he seeks our destruction.

We wonder why there is so much violence on our streets and in our homes.

We wonder why there is so much greed.

We wonder why our sexuality is so backwards. It's Satan!

Satan is preoccupied with your relationship with Christ and your relationship in Christ's cause.

Before you became a Christian, his main interest was to blind you to the truth about Christ.

Satan sought to seduce you into his terrain. Once you become a Christian, he will do everything he can to render you ineffective for Christ and Christ's cause.

At the same time you can overcome him with the boldness and authority that is given you through Jesus Christ - and your standing in God. 

You do not need to fear the enemy!

You do not need to fear the enemy because you are a child of God!

I encourage you to realize who you are in Jesus!

You have been given a spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind!

Repeat after me: 

"In Jesus, I am an overcomer."

"In the name of Jesus, I bind and cast out all spirits that would attempt to keep me in a low place."

"Lord, You are the God of the valleys.  Cast out every valley spirit in the name of Jesus!"

"In the name of Jesus, I break and divide every demonic confederacy against my life."

"Greater is He in me, than He who lives in the world!"

Just a thought for a Wednesday.

Confronting your fears

Scott Peck begins his book, "The Road Less Traveled," with these memorable words:

 

"Life is difficult.  This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths.  It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it.  Once we truly know that life is difficult - once we truly understand and accept it - then life is no longer difficult.  Because one it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters."

 

What's interesting about that quote is that as followers of Jesus, we know life is difficult.

 

Jesus tells us in John 16:33, "In this world you will have tribulation."

 

Paul agrees with that in Acts 14:22, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God."

 

And we know that at the end of the age, the church will go through the most intense persecution of it's history. 

 

In Matthew 24:21, Jesus spoke of a "Great Tribulation," which "has not been seen form the beginning of the world until now, and never will be."

 

Throughout Scriptures it is made clear that the life of a believer is anything but easy.

 

I can't, in one blog, give all the different godly responses to difficulties that come our way.

 

I know that you, perhaps, as well as myself, are facing trials of immense proportions.

 

In that context, let's remember Proverbs 28:1.   I encourage you to memorize this verse today.

 

"The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion."

 

What that verse means is this:  You and I will be gripped with fear until we decide to confront it.

 

Fear will win everyday until you stand up, look that fear straight in the face, and say, "you are not going to win over me anymore.  By the help of God and with the power of the Holy Spirit, I am going to win against you."

 

Listen to me, you and I will never win until we rise up and confront the thing that is dragging us down.

 

Courage is nothing more than seeing the fear and taking action against it.

 

How many of you know the 95% Rule of Worry?  It goes like this:  95% of the things we worry about won't happen.

 

In other words to worry about something you can't change is useless. 

 

It is like sitting in a rocking chair - it gives you something to do but it doesn't take you anywhere.

 

Most of the time we worry about things that are never going to happen, and even if it does, we can deal with it when it does happen - with God's help.

 

Paul writes to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

 

God has given us a sound mind so that we can look at our problems.  He's given us power so we can overcome, and he's given us love so we can respond in his character.

 

Why not join me in walking with the "boldness of a lion today" - and confront your fears with God's help?

That's what courage is:  Facing and dealing with the impossible situations of life and still believing in God, still rejoicing in his goodness.
 

Just a thought for a Tuesday.

Thoughts from the weekend

Thoughts from the weekend

 

Applause for all of our Royal Ranger leaders! 

 

Our annual Pinewood Derby was a success in the sense that it was well attended - and a great time by all!

 

I am thankful for the way the teaching yesterday ministered to many.

 

As you might know, I am a "grace guy".  I love to preach and minister on God's grace and love.

 

However, God is also a God of holiness - and He takes sin seriously.

 

Here's what I know:  When we take sin seriously, we can then take his grace seriously.   What Dietrich Bonhoeffer calls a costly grace.

 

Our forgiveness cost God the life of His Son.  Why?  To redeem us from our sins.  We honor God by taking the very thing that lead to the cross seriously - taking upon Himself your sin and my sin - so that we might have eternal life.

 

I understand that we had over 50 kids in our Kid's Hub (children's church yesterday)!

 

Praise God!

 

I really felt God's presence yesterday as we "sang in the spirit" around the altar after the second service.  It is one of my favorite expressions of praise to God.

 

Good to see new faces yesterday!

 

As I am writing this - I just looked out my office window and saw the first Robin I have seen this spring.  Maybe spring is going to come!  :) :)

 

You can't help but catch the spirit of "March Madness".

 

Great games yesterday.

 

I'm looking at Michigan State and Florida in the final game (my prediction of the score to come later).

 

Here's a story I didn't get to share yesterday (but had planned to).

 

It shows the power of confession:

 

One author writes:

 

"Many years ago I was invited to see a man who was paralyzed from the waist down and had not bee in church for about 9 months.  I began to talk with him and he was a very bitter man, just filled with resentment.

 

A cow had kicked him in the back and paralyzed him.  He was bitter against members who hadn't visited him, bitter against the insurance company for not paying off, bitter against the doctor for not figuring gout how to make him walk, bitter against the cow, bitter against God.  He was very resentful.

 

I said (the author writes), "God may want to heal you and restore you to full health, but He will not heal you until first you get rid of that resentment in your life."

 

I remember him bowing his head and begin to weep, almost uncontrollably, deep sobs, "God, I have been so bitter.  Just flush all the anger and hate form me."  He wept for about 10 minutes.  I prayed with him and I left.  The next day the man came to church, in a wheelchair, the firs time he'd been in church in 9 months.  At the end of the service I gave a "come forward" invitation to people who wanted to come and pray.  The man got up out of his wheelchair and walked down to the front and recommitted his life to the Lord."

 

That is the power of confession.

 

Love you all......

Character is who you are in the dark

Character is who you are in the dark.

 

I love that quote.

 

Character is not so much what you do as much as who you are.

 

"Image" is what people think you are.  Character is what you really are.

 

I always say, "I can teach  - how to do something - I can't teach character."

 

Isn't it amazing that when we sin - we like to sin in private?

 

And we think that God doesn't see us?

 

Dallas Willard writes about a 2-and-a-half-year-old girl in her backward who one day discovered the secret to making mud (which she called "warm chocolate"). 

 

Her grandmother had been reading and was facing away from the action, but after cleaning up what was to her a mess, she told her little Larissa not to make any  more chocolate and turned her chair around so as to be facing her granddaughter.

 

The little girl soon resumed her "warm chocolate" routine, with one request posed as sweetly as a 2-and-a-half-year-old can make it:  don't look at me, Nana.  Okay?"  Nana (being a little co-dependent) of course agreed.

 

Larissa continued to manufacture warm chocolate.  Three times she said, as she continued her work, "Don't look at me, Nana.  Okay?"

 

Dallas Willard then writes, "Thus the tender soul of a little child shows us how necessary it is to us that we be unobserved in our wrong."

 

I would suggest to you that anytime we do wrong or withhold ourselves from doing right, we choose hiddenness at the same time.

 

We think God doesn't observe what we are doing/saying/thinking/feeling.

 

And maybe, just maybe, it may be that out of all the prayers that are ever spoken, the most common one, the quietest one; the one that we are hesitant to share with others that we pray - is simply this:  "Don't look at me God."

 

Today, as you walk about your daily activities, ask yourself - Would God be pleased with what I am saying or doing?  Is my life an "open book" before the Lord?

 

Does my life put a "smile on God's face?"

 

Just a thought for a Thursday.

 

 

The power of invitation

Please read this blog!  It is detrimental to the health of the devil and his demons!

At Stone Church, we say all the time, "invite someone to one of our Sunday morning services (or small groups)."

There are two specific Sunday morning events that we encourage you to invite a non-churched person to during the month of April.

April 13th - Friend Day.  We would ask you to invite a non-Christian friend to church that morning for one of our Worship Services.  There will be a special emphasis on welcoming new people as well as an altar call for salvation that morning.

April 20th - Easter.  If you and I can't get excited about Easter than our "wood is wet!"  We need the spark of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Easter is a great time to invite a friend to church.

Why is inviting someone to church so important? 

You and I both know that statistics can be boring, but listen to these.

When asked, "what brought you to this church?"

2% responded - advertisement

6% responded - an invitation by the pastor

6% responded - an organized evangelistic outreach program

86% responded - an invitation by a friend or family member.

Dr. Thom Rainer writes, "82% of the unchurched are at least somewhat likely to attend church if invited, but only 2% of church members invite an unchurched person to church.  98% of church-goers never extend an invitation in a given year."

That is very, very challenging to all of us.

Why don't we invite people to come to church?

You desire people to come to know God.

You know that people are lost without God and are choosing eternity in hell if they don't connect to Jesus.

You want your neighbors and your friends to come to God.

People want to be invited to church, and they will come if you do, and yet, you are not doing it.

Then why don't you invite them?

The number one reason is fear.

Survivor Eva Hart remembers the night, April 15, 1912, on which the Titanic plunged 12,000 feet to the Atlantic floor, some two hours and forty minutes after an iceberg tore a 300-foot gash in the starboard side:

"I saw all the horror of its sinking, and I heard, even more dreadful, the cries of drowning people."

Although twenty life-boats and rafts were launched-too few and only partly filled-most of the passengers ended up struggling in the icy seas while those in the boats waited a safe distance away.

Lifeboat No. 14 did row back to the scene after the unsinkable ship slipped from sight at 2:20 A.m. Alone, it chased cries in the darkness, seeking and saving a precious few. Incredibly, no other boat joined it.

Some were already overloaded, but in virtually every other boat, those already saved rowed their half-filled boats aimlessly in the night, listening to the cries of the lost. Each feared a crush of unknown swimmers would cling to their craft, eventually swamping it.

"I came to seek and to save the lost," our Savior said. And he commissioned us to do the same.

But we face a large obstacle: fear. While people drown in the treacherous waters around us, we are tempted to stay dry and make certain no one rocks the boat.

We might have someone who could be totally up for it right in front of us, practically beckoning us to invite them, and instead we hesitate and hem and haw and sometimes don't even get the words out of our mouths.

We are afraid of what they will think of us for going, fearful of what they might think of our church, fearful of what they will think of us if they come and don't like it. 

And - if we were candid with each other - some of those fears might come to pass - but it is still a fear of man, and that is not a valid reason for you and I to deny an opportunity to fulfill the mission God has called us to.

8 tips to get around the fear that prohibits you from inviting someone:

Number one:  Ask God for His heart for the lost.

This coming Easter, we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus - and remember the death of Christ on the cross.  This shows us God's heart for the lost in his selfless sacrifice for you and I.

If your heart has become so hardened that you no longer care that your neighbor is estranged from Christ, ask for forgiveness.  Pray that God would give you a powerful love for those who do not know him.  Trust that he will give you that love through the Holy Spirit.  Put your words into action.

Many times we can begin to feel that our ministry participation in church relieves us from the responsibility that we all have as believers to bring them to Christ.  Everyone is called to invite.

Number two:  Pray for the boldness and courage of the Holy Spirit.

That fear that you are experiencing (the fear of inviting someone to church) is the work of the enemy.  Pray for deliverance from fear, pray for courage, and pray for boldness.  The Holy Spirit will meet your there.

Number three:  Pray for specific people. 

Pray that God would put five people on your heart to invite.  When he does, trust that he will give you the courage you just prayed for to be faithful in reaching out to people He put on  your heart.

Number four:  Remember your own calling.

Instead of focusing on your fear - focus on your faith and the grace of God in your life.  The more you focus on what God has done for you -  you will want to share that with others.  Listen to the stories of how God saved other Christians in your church and pray that God would give you the gift of watching those stories unfold in the lives of the five people you invite.

Number five:  Remember the gospel.

What is the primary way that people connect to Christ?  A verbal proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  People need to hear the gospel explained to believe.  How can they believe is they do not hear?  The goal of inviting someone to church is incredibly simple:  through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, God will open blind eyes and a dead heart to believe.

Number six:  Trust in God's power to save.

I have seen God change people that I thought (in the natural) were unchangeable.  I have seen people changed by God in their darkest moments.  Please note:  If your non-Christian friend seems to have little interest in Christ that is not a sign that they never will.

Number seven:  Know that sharing the hope of eternity is the most loving thing you can do.

Inviting non-Christians to hear the gospel can challenge some of the lies they have built a false hope on.  It may feel wrong or awkward to challenge some of their beliefs, but it is the most loving thing you can do. Loving someone means caring about their eternal future, not just that one moment of awkwardness.

Number eight:  Know that it is not about you.

Nothing about God saving  your non-Christian friend depends on you.  Salvation is of the Lord, not the result of your clever arguments.  If you know that the Holy Spirit is the one who does all the work of awakening a dead heart, it takes the pressure off your abilities to get the words or the timing just right.  Our role is simply to be faithful.

As I write, I am reminded of Jesus' interaction with the woman at the well in John 4.  It didn't take long for the woman to realize that the man she was talking to was no ordinary Jewish teacher.  His prophetic insights and authoritative answers convinced her of His claim to be the Messiah.

So what did she do?  She immediately went to her town and brought a bunch of people to the well to hear Jesus for themselves.  This simple invitation resulted in His staying in their town for two days.  Many of the woman's friends declared in John 4:42, "Now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."

That is the power of an invitation.  She didn't lecture on 12 reasons to believe that Jesus is the Christ.

She just said, "Come and see."

There are tons of ways to invite people to church.  Depending on your style, your personality, your age, your connections, your community, the possibilities are endless.  So, to get the ball rolling, I'm not too concerned about how you invite, I desire that you being inviting.

Will you join me in this God given mission?

 

 

Having a great argument with your spouse

I have a very good friend who to this day, denies that he has ever had a verbal argument with his wife.

And he is serious.

I want to share with him, "Liar, liar, pants on fire."

All couples are going to have tiffs, spats, disagreements, and verbal fights in their life.

It goes with being married.

But listen to me:  that does not mean that your marriage is unhealthy.

Health in your marriage is not measured by the lack of problems, but by the way you handle them.

Ephesians 4 gives  us a few guidelines on how to have a great fight (I read these years ago):

1.  Be committed to honesty and mutual respect.

Paul writes in Ephesians 4:25, "therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor (spouse), for we are members of one another."

In other words, make a decision in advance that you will treat your spouse with honesty and mutual respect.  Make a commitment to tell one another the truth - in love.  Don't wait until you are in the heat of an argument to decide that you will respect your mate.  Say to yourself this day, "I will treat my spouse with respect and honesty."

2.  Make sure your weapons are not deadly.

Paul writes in verse 26, "Be angry, and yet do not sin."

You will get angry in your relationship with your spouse.  But do not let your anger lead you into sin.

Bursts of exasperated temper.  Rage.  Lack of control.  A desire to hurt your spouse or the use of profanity. 

How do I know if my anger is out of control?

I attack my spouse (verbally) personally instead of the issue.

I reject instead of reprove.  I condemn.

I use gross exaggerations like "always" and "never" to prove a point.

3.  Agree together that the time is right.

Is it the right time to resolve an issue?

Paul writes in verses 26 and 27, "Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity."

Use your time wisely.  Make sure you both are in agreement that it is the right time to talk.  Don't jump in to something the moment either of you drags home from work or when there is a stack of dishes and three children that need to be put to bed.

Choose your timing carefully.

Let your spouse tell you, "this isn't the best time," or "This is not the right place; let's deal with it a little bit later in a more appropriate setting."

But having said that - don't keep putting it off.  Don't let the day end without having dealt with the issue.

4.  Have a positive solution in hand after taking a swing (verbally).

Paul inserts a thought on stealing in verse 28, but we can apply it to marriage as well.

He writes, "let him who steals steal no longer."  And then he gives a positive solution, "But rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that the may have something to share with him who has need."

Come to the table with a positive solution.  Don't just seek to get your point across, but prayerfully come with a resolution to the problem.

5.  Watch your words and guard your tone.

Paul writes in verse 29,30, "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as I good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."

Isn't it true that when we have a point that we want to make - we speak louder?  As if that is going to get the point across without any debate.

And the louder our tone, the uglier our words usually get, and the less your spouse can really listen.

The louder you get - the more they will tune you out.  Speak softly with respect.

6.  Don't fight in public.

"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice," Paul writes in verse 31.

Share your anger and hurt with a counselor if you will, but never in public for all to see.

7.  When it is over - help clean up the mess.

Paul writes in verse 32, "be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you."

Be kind.  Compassionate.  Forgiving.  Admit when you are wrong.  And let the Holy Spirit bring not only resolution but reconciliation to your marriage.

Just a thought for a Tuesday.

Thoughts from the weekend

Thoughts from the weekend:

Whenever I hear a spiritual truth once - I listen and apply it to my life.

Whenever I hear a spiritual truth twice - I know for certain that God is trying to speak to me.

Debbie shared this truth with me from Mark Batterson's book, "Draw the Circle", which we are going through as a church for forty days.

Then, last evening, our guest speaker, Mikel French gave us the same through.

Here it is (my paraphrase):  More than speaking to God about our situation, we are to speak to our situation about God.

I like that.

I can and must tell God about my trials, problems and challenges.  God likes it when I do that.  He wants me to "lay my burdens down" at his feet.

But as a spirit filled believer, walking in the authority of Christ, I can also speak to my situation about God.

I can say things like:

"Sickness, God is greater than you.  Be gone in the name of Jesus.  Jesus is my healer.  You shall have no authority over my body."

"Finances, God has everything under control.  You will not cause me to walk in fear because God gives me strength and courage during difficult times.  I will not bow down, finances, to the spirit of worry that you are bringing into my life.  Greater is he in me than he who lives in the world."

"Job search, there is a job out there for me.  You have kept me in bondage for too long.  I will not bow down to the thoughts of the enemy that I will never find a job.  God already has the job for me.  that anxiety I feel over not finding a job is gone - in the name of Jesus!"

Well, you get the idea.

I encourage you to do that today.  Speak to your situation about God.  Tell the situation that your God is far greater than that trial or adversity.

And then, let God "do His thing"!

Powerful stuff.

Over 25 people raised their hands for salvation Sunday morning!

Praise God!

What a deeply anointed service we had last evening - the sweet, powerful presence of God. 

People "slain in the spirit".

People worshipping God.

People being Pentecostal.

I love it.

It was like stepping into a warm house on a cold day.

It was like feeling the warmth of the fire from the fireplace as you sit in your easy chair.

Gentle.  Anointed.  Powerful.

Tonight:  7:00 P.M. 

Thankful for the ministry of Mikel French and James Huey.

The Word and Worship.  A solid "one-two" punch in the devil's face!

I really like being in the presence of God!

God is truly moving in our church - won't you come and join us?

Love you all......

Living your wounds

One of the things I know as a pastor is this:

We have all been wounded.

 

We are the "walking wounded" if you will (some call this Jacob's limp - we all, to a certain extent walk with a limp).

 

And here's what I also know:  the more you open yourself to being healed, the more you will discover just how deep your wounds really are.

 

As you reach for healing, you begin to discover the layers of hurt that are there as well as uncovering other wounds as well.

 

That can be discouraging.

 

It can lead to tears and times of despair.

 

But I want to encourage you today. 

 

Do not be afraid.  Do not walk in fear.

 

The simple fact that you are more aware of your wounds shows that you have sufficient strength to face them.

 

Awareness if the key.  Blasting away denial, you realize with a Holy Spirit realization that the wounds are real - they are there and no amount of ignoring them with bring healing.

 

Can I give you a challenge today?

 

Live your wounds instead of thinking them through.

 

I would suggest to you (I quote Henri Nouwen here), "that it is better to cry than to worry, better to feel  your wounds deeply than to understand them, better to let them enter into your silence than to talk about them."

 

Are you taking your wounds to your head or to your heart?

 

When we quarantine our wounds to our head (our thought processes) we can analyze them, try to figure out their cause and effect and speak in Christian clichés.

 

Yet, no ultimate healing will come from these sources.

 

We need to let our wounds go down into our heart - and in so doing you live through them and discover that your wounds will not overwhelm you or destroy you.

 

Your heart (with the Holy Spirit in you) is greater than your wounds.

 

This process, however, is not easy.  We want to know the "why", the "when", the "how" and the "by whom," don't we.

 

Yet as you trust in God - God will help you understand that all of those questions are valid - but the most important thing is embracing your wound in your heart - and letting God walk you though to victory.

 

Isaiah 43:1,2,3 tells us, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire,  you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.  For I am the Lord, your God."

 

Victory is yours today!

 

Just a thought for a Thursday.

 

Grudges and life

I like to say that I am getting to the age where I am forgetting the names of those whom I have held grudges against.

 

What is a grudge? 

 

A grudge is when a person is persistently mad at someone else.

 

They can't let go of a wrong or a hurt, whether is be real or unreal, intentional or unintentional.

 

By the very nature of our human DNA, we as followers of Christ can lower ourselves into carrying around a grudge like a heavy ball and chain.

 

In his best-selling book, "The Telling Room", Michael Paterniti shares a true story he heard when visiting his father's ancestral village in Sicily.

 

Every day while he was in the village he saw a very old woman walking with her cane, struggling up a steep road to get to the local cemetery. It was said that at her tortoise pace, the walk from her home to the cemetery and back took about six hours out of her day.

 

What grief inspired her difficult daily walk?

 

Was she driven by sorrow over a departed child or a deceased husband, the love of her life?

 

No, the locals told Paterniti that she was driven by Astio, or bitter hatred.

 

Her archenemy was buried in that cemetery. So, rain or shine, the old woman walked up the hill every day to her enemy's gravesite, just to spit on it one more time.

 

My suggestion to you today is to simply, "let it go."  Make a choice to release the resentment and anger.  Let's the Holy Spirit permeate not only your spirit but your soul.

 

And remember:  life is short - do you really want to fill your time up with a grudge?

 

Just a thought for a Wednesday.

Parenting is a calling from God

Parenting is an exercise in discipleship that brings us our greatest joys - and - many times, our most difficult sorrows.

 

What I see today in God's kingdom are parents who are taking their role as mom and dad seriously.  I see parents who not only desire to raise their kids as "unto the Lord", but want to be the women and men of God that God has called them to be.

 

Here's what I know:  We are to give godly counsel to our children.

 

David writes in Psalms 1:1, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly."

 

God calls us as godly parents to give godly advice to our children.

 

I encourage you as a Christian parent to raise your children according to God's Word and godly counsel from Christian books, magazines and T.V. talk shows.

 

That is so important, for the values of our secular, carnal culture are promoting the idea that it is socially unacceptable to reprimand, repress, restrain or discipline our children.

 

Society calls it a violation of your child's freedom and self-expression.

 

Discipling your child means that  you go far beyond simply exercising authority over them.

 

There must be equal amounts of love, service, patience, understanding and instruction.

 

Please listen to me:  You can be a tremendous force for good, both to you own children and to other children under your influence.

 

You can be a part of the process of leading them to their life purpose.

 

Sometimes it is easy to think if not say out loud, "I don't feel up to parenting; I feel so inadequate to raise my children; I'm not much more than a big kid myself."

 

Yet remember this:  Your effectiveness as a parent goes far beyond your own sense of being prepared, or experienced or your present energy level as mom and dad.

 

It is a measured call of God on your life.  God has called you to be a parent.

 

That is so important to understand when you are tempted to NOT confront ungodly attitudes and behaviors in your children.

 

And you might feel a little bit sheepish is attempting to teach and lead your children in such a way that they honor you as their parents (as the Bible says to do).

 

But Jesus as designated you as an influencer and shaper of your children's for God's glory - not your own. 

 

God's Word has laid out the results that your influence can have - for better or for worse.

 

Here are some action steps to fulfilling the call of God on your life as a parent:

 

Know that you are called by God to be your children's mom or dad.

 

Be a godly role model.

 

Focus on affirming your children and building a platform of trust by showing them how much you love them.

 

When the spontaneous  moment for spiritual input and guidance comes - "seize the day" no matter what is going on around you.

 

Finally, I would suggest that you pray this prayer today:

 

"Father God, help me to shape the children under my influence by loving them according to Your commandments and teaching them Your ways.  I desire to be a faithful shepherd who wisely uses the rod of Your leading and correction.  Teach me never to neglect or ignore any child that You bring into my life.  Confront in me any harmful attitudes that linger from my own childhood.  Fill me daily with Your Holy Spirit, and keep the fountain of my soul overflowing with Your wisdom, goodness and affirmation toward children so that they may become the godly nurturers and leaders of tomorrow.  In Jesus' name.  Amen."

Thoughts from the weekend

Thoughts from the weekend

Saturday was a busy, meaningful day at our church.

We had our annual "Upward Celebration", which is a time when all of the kids and parents gather together to receive awards for their participation in this basketball ministry to the community.

There was a guest speaker - and I am told that several kids raised their hands for salvation!

Praise God!

We also had a district wide Royal Rangers leadership seminar at our church.  Thanks to all of our Royal Ranger leaders for attending!

Finally, our TBQ teams went to Effingham, Illinois for a district meet.  I understand that they did really well - thanks to all of the kids and to all of our adult leaders!

Wow!

Good stuff.

I am thankful for your prayers.  As I said yesterday, it has been a very difficult two weeks - but it is very comforting knowing that you are praying for me - and concerned.

Let me give you the scripture that I read yesterday from Psalms 112:7, "They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them."

My trust and my faith is in God.

Sometimes when God is all we have - God is all we need.

One time, the disciples of Jesus (John 6) were struggling with understanding the teachings of Jesus.  They began to grumble amongst themselves.

Jesus dug a little bit deeper into his teaching and basically said that no one can come to Him and fully understand what He is saying unless God enables them.

The Bible says that (John 6:66), "from this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

Jesus then said to the 12, "You do not want to leave too, do you?"  (John 6:67)

Peter answers in verse 68, "Lord to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."

In other words, "where else can we go to but to you, Jesus!"

I can relate to that and I know you can to.

Let me rephrase what I wrote above:

You and I never will know God is all we need until God is all we have.

Love you all.....

How we handle the Bible matters

Over the past two or three years, I have chosen a path of teaching the Bible verse by verse on Sunday mornings.

 

We went through the Gospel of John in its entirety and are now walking through the book of Genesis.

 

Early in the summer of this year, we will begin a pilgrimage through the book of Acts.

 

I absolutely love it!

 

I like it because it gets me into the word in a deeper way.

 

I like it because it gets our church family in the word in a deeper way.

 

Most of life's questions are answered in the Bible.  If not directly, than indirectly.

 

We are to be people of God's word.

 

Slowly, but surely, more and more of our church family are bringing their Bibles to a Sunday morning worship experience, opened up and ready to listen to His Word.

 

If I could squeeze on challenge in here:  coming to a Sunday morning service without your Bible is like trying to snow ski without skis - or playing tennis without a tennis racket - well, you get the idea).

 

Here's what I know:  Understanding God's Word is important.

 

This past week I heard a sad story of sincere religious conviction and deadly misinterpretation.

 

For years, some Christian congregations have taken Jesus' words in Mark 16:18, "… they shall take up serpents …" — literally.

 

But the supposed scriptural promise that the faithful will be protected doesn't always pan out.

 

One prominent pastor in a snake-handling congregation recently died after being bitten in a service.

 

While his sincerity was unquestionable (refusing medical intervention) his hermeneutic apparently was.

 

Many misinterpreted Scripture passages won't kill you as quickly as rattlesnake venom, but any misreading of Scripture carries serious consequences for how we live our lives, and what we believe about God.

 

How we handle the Bible matters.

 

Just a thought for a Thursday.

Losing your coat doesn't mean losing your dream

God gives us direction, dreams if you will, for our future.

You have a dream - a purpose for your life.

I do to.

As followers of Christ, we all do.

Joseph, as a 17 year old boy (Genesis 37) had a dream.

It was a dream from God - about his future - and the way God would use him.

It was a dream that included the fact that one day his siblings would bow down to him.

He shared that dream with his brothers in a prideful way.

Now as one of the youngest of the tribe - it was not a smart thing to do.

That dream (that he shared with his brothers) and the fact that his dad, Jacob, favored him above all the rest of the children, did not set well with the brothers.

His dad gave him a "coat of many colors."

Because of their jealousy, the brothers took Joseph and sold him to some passing travelers.

Not wanting Jacob to know what they did - they faked his death.

The Bible says in Genesis 37:31-32, "Then they got Joseph's robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.  They took the ornamented robe back to their father."

Joseph lost his coat.  His status with his dad.  The piece of clothing that set him "head and shoulders" above the rest.

Please understand that when you lose your coat - you have not lost your dream.

So, I challenge you today to know the difference between your dream and your coat.  Your dream is a permanent calling from God that requires a process of cultivation for fulfillment.

Your coat, whatever gives you a feeling of status - is a temporary symbol that God may choose to take away.

But that doesn't mean that your dream is lost.  Don't confuse the two.

God is much more interested in who the dream makes you than what the dream is.

Losing your coat doesn't mean losing  your dream.

Just a thought for a Wednesday.

Tearing down walls

Someone once wrote, "fences make good neighbors."

 

I get that.

 

We all need our space.

 

We all need to "get away from it all," and relax.

 

Yet, what I also know is that we don't have to build physical walls to keep people out; we can build emotional and relational walls (to keep people out) that can be just as high as any prison wall in the country.

 

Walls have been built since the beginning of time.

 

I read today that in the first century, the Roman emperor Hadrian built a 75-mile wall across Roman Britain.

 

In the 1870s, Argentina built a line of trenches and watchtowers called the Zanja de Alsina to protect Buenos Aires from invasion by indigenous peoples.

 

The Berlin Wall went up in 1961, dividing East from West for almost 30 years.

 

In 1975, South Africa built a 3,500-volt electric fence dubbed the Snake of Fire to keep the civil war in Mozambique from spilling over into the frontier.

 

In the middle of the night in August 2006, Italian officials constructed a steel wall around Via Anelli, a run-down neighborhood known for drug trafficking and prostitution.

 

What are the negative effects of walls?

 

They can divide us. 

 

Either intentionally or unintentionally we can keep people out from true relationship, from a real relational connection.

 

We do this because we have been hurt in the past, and "we are never going to let ourselves be hurt like that again."

 

But "keeping people out" does not help us - it hurts us.

 

Walls don't just divide us.

 

They challenge our emotions.

 

After the Berlin Wall went up, East German psychiatrists observed that the Berlin Wall caused mental illness, rage, dejection, and addiction. The closer to the physical wall people lived, the more acute their disorders.

 

The only cure for "Wall Disease" was to bring the Wall down.

 

Sure enough, in 1990, psychiatrists noted the "emotional liberation" felt after November 9, 1989 when the Wall finally fell. Thousands of jubilant Germans climbed the Wall, wept, and embraced each other atop the concrete, and proceeded to tear the Wall down with joyful abandon.

 

I would suggest to you today that (with the help of the Holy Spirit) you tear down your walls and let people in.  In missing out on the pain by keeping your walls up, you also miss out on the joy and happiness of fulfilling relationships with others.

 

Just a thought for a Tuesday.

Thoughts from the weekend

Thoughts from the weekend:

God is doing a great thing in our church!

We are experiencing some spiritual momentum.

My desire is that we ride the current wave of the Holy Spirit's moving!

Our pastoral staff just spent the morning in planning - lots of great events coming in the Spring!

Thankful for our pastoral staff team.

I am enjoying the sunshine (out my window) on this Monday. 

You really aren't thankful for what you do have until it is taken away (like sunshine and spring).

What I didn't get to in yesterday's teaching:

Constantly desiring the approval of others can be an idol.

Our goal is to ultimately seek God's approval alone - and as we attempt to do that - everything else will fall into place.

In his book Counterfeit Gods, Timothy Keller writes, "Idols generate false beliefs such as 'If I cannot achieve X, then my life won't be valid' or, 'Since I have lost or failed at Y, now I can never be happy or forgiven.'"

 

Then he illustrates this point with the following illustration:  A young woman named Mary was an accomplished musician who once attended my church. For many years she had battled mental illness and had checked in and out of psychiatric institutions. She gave me permission as her pastor to speak to her therapist …. "Mary virtually worships her parents' approval of her," her counselor told me, "and they always wanted her to be a world-class artist. She is quite good, but she's never reached the top of her profession, and she cannot live with the idea that she has disappointed her parents."

 

Medications helped to manage her depression, but they could not get to the root of it. Her problem was a false belief, driven by an idol. She told herself, "If I cannot be a well-known violinist, I have let down my parents, and my life is a failure."

 

She was distressed and guilty enough to die. When Mary began to believe the gospel, that she was saved by grace, not by musicianship, and that, "though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord shall take me in" (Psalm 27:10), she began to get relief from her idolatrous need for her parents' approval. In time her depression and anxiety began to lift, and she was able to reenter her life and musical career.

Why not seek after God's approval today - and let the rest fall into place.

Love you all.....

Comparing problems and blessings

The word of the day:  Don't compare.

One of the things that will wear you out is comparing both your problems and your blessings with others.

It will exhaust you mentally and emotionally to think if not say:

"Why do I have the problems I have - look at them over there - they don't have half the problems I do."

"Why are they blessed so much and I am not?  I am much more godly than they are!"

It is a challenge as old as mankind.

Comparing.

After the death and resurrection of Jesus, Jesus is conversing with Peter.  Peter looks at John and says basically, "Lord, what are you going to do with John?  How are you going to use John?  What will John be going through?"

Jesus turns around and says and I quote from John 21:22, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?  You must follow me."

In other words, to put it bluntly, mind your own business.  Keep your focus on me.

Don't compare.

Don't compare sufferings.  Your pain is your pain.  It is unique to you.

"Well, I shouldn't feel this way because there are people in the world who are far worse off than I am."

I get that - but your pain is your pain.  Your feelings are your feelings.  God wants to help you on the level of your pain and your feelings within the confines of that pain.

The opposite is true as well.  If we are not careful, our suffering can be a source of pride or resentment.  We like the attention we receive from others while we suffer.

I would suggest that no matter how badly someone else is suffering we always want to think that we are suffering worse than they are. 

Yup.  It's true.  It is just the opposite of feeling guilty over our feelings during our pain - because there are others suffering much worse. 

We can feel superior in the sense that we are suffering in a way that is much worse than others.

It is a lie of the enemy in both scenarios.

The devil says, "How can you feel depressed over what you are going through - think of all of the people who are suffering much worse than you."

Or, "You have it much worse than anybody else.  You must be doing something wrong.  You are the scum of the earth."

All lies.

The Apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:8,9, "...the enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring (in fierce hunger), seeking someone to seize upon and devour.  Withstand him; be firm in the faith (against his onset - rooted, established, strong, immovable and determined), knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christ) throughout the world."

God would say to you today - don't compare your pain (or your blessings) with others.  Rejoice in what you do have and not in what you don't have.

Forget about what others are doing or going through.  Follow Christ.  Keep your eyes on him.

Don't let yourself feel sorry for yourself. 

And if you do this - it will help you to stay strong and not become weary and faint.

Just a thought for a Thursday.

God's love

It is only natural that we try to compute God's love with human love. 

I mean, it is all that we know. 

At the same time - God's love much higher and broader and deeper than any love that we can produce in the natural.

That's what we are looking at this evening as we close out Romans 8 - looking at verses 38,39.

Paul writes:  For I am convinced (I know this not only intellectually but I know it experientially in my heart) that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation (we will specifically unpack each one of these - this evening), will be able to separate (violently tear from, to completely divide) us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Wonderful words of assurance.

God's agape love never ends; it is not fickle or waning or changeable or whimsical.

Jeremiah 31:3 says, "I have loved you with an everlasting glove; therefore I have drawn you with loving kindness."

Our emotions can change form day to day based upon our mood swings or the condition of our health or many other factors.

Jesus however, is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

His love never, ever changes. 

Can I share with you this?  God has a "crazy love" for you.

God is for you.

If  you were a skier in the Olympics, God is cheering your run.  Look at the finish line - that's God applauding your steps.

Are you too tired to continue?  God will carry you.

God is for you.

His love is eternal.

If God carried a wallet - your picture would be in it.

God has your birthday circled on his calendar.

Nothing can separate you from that love.

Rest in that today, my dear friends.

Just a thought for a Wednesday.

Naming it for what it is

Sometimes you and I just need to name something for what it is.

 

Politicians have their "spin" on events; they have people on their staffs whose whole occupation is to put a positive spin on some kind of negativity in the campaign.

 

People put their own spin on different actions that they have participated in through rationalization or redefining what they did by comparing it to others doing the same thing.  Or it is not "hurting anyone." 

 

We as followers of Christ use our "spin" as well when it comes to words such as "sin."

 

We don't like to use the word "sin". 

 

We use synonyms because we think that if we say "sin" some people will label us as a traditional old super Christian Bible thumpers (I went through this phase a few years back - wanting to be "friendly" to the non-churched).

 

Here are the words we use instead:  Junk.  Failures.  Baggage.  Hang-ups.  Challenges.  Struggles.  Mistakes.  Issues.  Problems.

 

Jonathan Acuff has written, "I work in the corporate world, where you're supposed to put a spin on bad things.  You're supposed to say, "I found an opportunity for improvement," not, "I made a mistake."  You should say, "I have identified some growth areas in my performance," not, 'I figured out why that project I presented caught on fire in the conference room."

 

He further explains, "But when Jesus died on the cross he didn't do so because he wanted to "shift my paradigm."  He didn't come to help me "realize my full potential" and "Unpack my baggage."  Or "overcome my hang-ups".  "Or recalenderize my Q1."

 

Great stuff for a Tuesday. 

 

You see, maybe, just maybe, we should go back to naming it for what it is - sin. 

Thoughts from the weekend

Thoughts from the weekend:

It was my privilege to dedicate Anthony and Alyssa Espano yesterday.  What a wonderful family!  It is truly a joy to see them grow in the Lord - and in relationship with our church family!

We are rejoicing with Rick Maldaner at finding a job (after a four year search)!

God is good!

Your story, Rick, is not only a testimony of God's faithfulness but an example of a follower of Christ being faithful during a difficult time!

Great to see Kay Nichols and Ruth Sennese back in one of our Sunday morning services yesterday after being gone for various physical infirmities.

I deeply appreciated the positive comments after my teaching yesterday on "Dealing with Abuse".  As I remarked, it was a very, very difficult topic to unpack - as so many people in today's world have experienced abuse.

Thanks to all who took the time to affirm what was shared - it meant a lot to me. 

More importantly, however, I am grateful that it ministered to so many people.

I met two new families yesterday.  Praise God!

Just a short note of thanks for all of you who come Sunday after Sunday to our Sunday morning worship services - thank you for your faithfulness.

There is an urgency in my spirit that we go into a deeper level of relationship with God.

Reminder:  Bring a friend to one of our Sunday morning services!

Bring a friend to one of our many small groups (life groups)!

God is trying to develop a sense of consistency in your life in your walk with Him.

Let him do that.

I am grateful for a loving, caring wife who not only supports me when I am down but speaks truth into my life when I am wrong.

Please be in prayer with us as we continue our search for a new worship pastor.

Again - if you have been praying for snow - please stop.  :) :)

Thanks, Pastor Charlie and Heather for all that you do in ministry.

I am grateful for Amanda and Aldin and Debbie as well!

If you have a prayer need, please contact our church office - our desire is to meet your needs as best and as quickly as we can.

Love you all.....