DEVOTIONS DAILY

"Middle-Class Jesus"

2011-05-09T16:10:00.000-07:00

There's a Middle-Class Jesus

I've seen around town

But He doesn't reach-out

To the poor and the down

He lives in the temples of steel and wood

He only hears prayers

Of the ones who are good

And He answers them faster;

The ones who can pay

He's a Middle-Class Jesus

What can I say?

There's a Middle-Class Jesus

Asleep on your pews

He rests in the buildings

Of the old and the few

He lives in the malls of the large and the proud

But not in your hearts

For crying out loud

He's bored of your rituals

And tired of your prayers

He's tired of your "Hired-Guns"

With the Donald Trump Hair

There's a Middle-Class Jesus

You know Him too well

And unless you repent

He will lead you to Hell

He isn't the One who died for your sins

He's the one who is made in the image of Men

Don't give me a "church" of steel and wood

Where men are paid

To tell you how to be good

Give me a church

Made of lives fully given

By men themselves, who are fully living

Who worship from lives, which are real and are broken

Who offer-up prayers which are more than a token

Give me a church that is made-up of men

Where sinners are loved in spite of their sin

Where hope is alive for all who will come

Where Christ is the help for lives undone

Give me a church

Found in the souls of the feeble

Where the hurting are helped

Without the aid of a steeple

Without carpet or pews or a church building;

They meet

But wherever they are

They're at the Savior's feet

When you were yet a maiden

2011-04-15T09:57:00.001-07:00

When you were yet a maiden

And I was in my Prime

You saw me as your gallant knight

Sent from an older time

You thrilled as I fought dragons

You thrilled to see me fight

Your were my fair young maiden

and I your gallant knight

My armor from a distance

Seemed perfect in your eyes

You did not see the scars of war

Beneath my steel disguise

We’ve travelled so many desolate roads

So much we’ve yet to see

But now I wonder if you love me still

At past a quarter century

You know my every weakness

The closer we’ve become

The armor doesn’t shine as much

As when we first begun

The dragons that once thrilled you

As the same you’ve seen before

You wonder why the beasts still stand

If in fact I have waged war

The blemishes you thought would dissappear

Seem cancers on my skin

A Different Bed To Sleep In By Gary L. Holman

2011-04-15T09:56:00.000-07:00

“She’d rather sleep with her anger than sleep with me” James’s words echoed off the night as the blue shadows painted the bedroom walls.

It was not the stone cold pillow beneath his heavy head that left him uncomfortable as much as it was the rumbling thoughts cascading within.

How had they gotten to this place? When had they become so readily adversarial? Who was this woman that he loved so desperately in spite of the hurt? How had the two of them transitioned from being friends who could hardly bear to be apart into these two people who could barely stand to be in the same room? Why were they so compelled to make this relationship survive?

Where was Tina with her soft brown hair, large chestnut eyes and easy smile? Where was the girl who had captured James heart so long ago? Jim had always loved the upturn of her full pink lips. He delighted how her smile brightened her whole face, and his.

James remembered the first time Tina had shared that smile with him; they were standing in line together at Long’s; the campus bookstore. The uncertainty of the pimply faced clerk trying to price “THE REASON OF MAN” has given James pause long enough to glance at the petite girl waiting in line behind him. “Sorry” he muttered. “I’m in no hurry”. Her words came softly, framed by the smile that caused her whole pixie face light-up. Something about the sparkle in her soft eyes caused Jim’s heart to skip. Instantly he was also slightly out of breath. “Only back to the dorm to study, I’m really not anxious to get back to “trig”. “$ 175.00 the awkward clerk interrupted, smacking his gum, as if for emphasis. “Is that with my student discount?”

Usually such ineptness would have been a cause for irritation, but at this moment, on this day, the delay gave Jim time to invite this goddess to spend a few more minutes with him. “Do you do coffee? I mean do you drink. . . “Yes, I love coffee, Tina offered. “Well, do you have time for a quick cup before returning to your studies? There’s The Java Cup just a few doors down the street. We could walk there if you like?” “Trig can wait Tina quickly answered, as if for reassurance Tina offered another smile.

The Java cup was currently the campus “hotspot”. The battered hole-in-the-wall was run by a couple seniors from the college’s school of business. The old storefront couldn’t really be much more battered dingy or depressing. What had been a tailor’s shop back when college students still needed such a place was run by a pudgy old man who wore his glasses down on his nose and colorful Hawaiian print shirts summer or winter.The harmless flirty old man was a part of the charm of campus for as far back and anyone could remember. He had passed on and the once vacant building was alive again.

A shiny brand new espresso machine pumped out cups of goodness upon an improvised counter where the old man’s treadle sewing machine had fascinated passer-bys for decades.

Just outside the front door at a throw-away table James fumbled to make conversations as Tina politely sipped her Caramel Machinate; skinny, no whip.

Tina was far more interesting to Jim than his “Javo Jo”; a large cup of Sumatra Coffee with two shots of espresso. The “Jo” was the legendary brew of “All Nighters” and “Morning Afters” which kept the dorm lights burning in this Midwestern college “cow town”.

Everything about Tina back on the day of their meeting seemed so perfect, from the way her gauzy peach top landscaped her smaller, firm breasts to the way her black kaki’s clung to her “walker’s butt and legs”. James instantly realized that this girl had no concept of how beautiful she was. He decided then and there that it would be his mission in life to help her realize that fact. James had found a flower to nourish.

The early Midwestern days gone by, was the spring of their love. Those were days of uncertain beginnings. Together they broke the ground of adulthood. As the crocus and daffodils fearlessly, but cautiously break the snows of winters past, so their passion melted their individual experiences, as cold and disappointing as they had been rewarding them both a promise of a beautiful summer's garden.

Devotion had led to love, love had led to marriage, marriage; children, children to a slow disintegration of the unity of the two, who had become one. Two became one and then three and soon four and somewhere between the sports, academics, scouts and the work required to pay for the domestic bliss, Jim and Tina became Mr. and Mrs. James and Christina Dunn, then Mom and Dad, Father and mother and eventually strangers. As they became Empty- Nester's, what was lost was absent from their hearts as well as their home.

Otherwise time had been kind to the two of them, relatively speaking. Both were paunchier and slower but James could still see a glimpse of the buoyant Tina peeking from within Christina occasionally when her doe eyes still sparkled. Jim's hair was no longer golden or shoulder length, but just as full as when he was six years out of high school as was his heart although lately, harsh words spoken in anger easily obscured it from his wife's sight.

"She'd rather sleep with her anger than with me" Jim said again out loud to no one in particular as he tried to make sense out of their fractured life.

"It's gonna be a long night and a long cold winter". Jim pulled the woolen duvet up tight against the cold. As he tossed once more and hoped for the arrival of spring.

Right Here In America?

2011-03-25T05:38:00.000-07:00

What I offer below is not the Word of God, but my own expectations;

I believe within a very short order of this date, May 25, 2011 the United States economy is going to completely collapse. Investments within this country will be worthless; our money will have no value. I believe that our country, as we know it now will also collapse, at least for awhile. We will have realized too late that we have given our country away to those who do not desire to be American.

A sign toward the end will be the astronomical cost of everything we have become dependent upon. Those who have their trust invested in their riches won’t survive; many will take their own lives, others will lack the skills for basic survival.

Our cities will become war zones as looting and robbery will be the only means to survive. Houses will be abandoned as families group together in largely rural areas where hunting and planting will once again become the source of life. Families and church families will surrender their individual living styles to group together in order to provide for one another. The Federal Government will not hold a solution, they may well be much of the problem. The proposition of a National Idenity Chip could well be instituted in order to buy or trade, if it has not already been established before this time.

Life will no longer depend upon commerce in a financial sense, but will be dependent upon each man to care for his own family group through primitive means. Bartering of skills will be of much greater value than useless knowledge gathered through the previous years. Stores will be empty of much and what will be available will not be obtainable to the common man. In that day, only those who understand that their dependence upon God and one another, as the means to survive, will survive.

While political socialism by a One World Government will be offered as the solution, only a life of community, apart from such a system will assure the reestablishment of our independent Nation.

NO MAN CAN SERVE GOD AND MONEY

2011-03-25T05:32:00.000-07:00

"No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. MATTHEW 6:24

Any time we begin a thought by saying, “Jesus said .” our hearts ought to be more in-tune to what our mouths are about to say than at any other time. It is the equal of the Saints of old proclaiming, “Thus Saith The Lord! That is to say, the words ought to bare more weight in our consideration for the very Son of God, the second party of the Trinity of God is speaking into the lives of we who mere mortal beings.

Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. MATTHEW 6:24

So is the term “Christian Businessman” an oxymoron? I believe it nearly is for Jesus also said, “I TELL YOU THE TRUTH, IT IS VERY HARD FOR A RICH MAN TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN”. MATTHEW 19:19 He didn’t say it is impossible for a rich man to get into Heaven for God’s grace is sufficient even for those who have money, if they are willing to surrender all they have to follow Him. Wasn’t that His challenge to the “Rich Young Ruler”?

We have made the mistake of thinking that Jesus singled out the Rich Young Ruler due to his greed or love of his money, but the truth is that ‘FULL SURRENDER OF WHO WE ARE AND OF WHAT WE HAVE’ IS ALWAYS THE COST OF BEING HIS DISCIPLE – NOTHING LESS! Jesus did not say to His Disciples, “gather your stuff and follow me!” In fact when He sent them out into ministry He instructed them to leave EVERYTHING behind, except for the clothes on their backs – so that they would be wholly dependent upon God to supply their needs through those to whom they ministered.

So the test is God MORE important to you than your possessions? If He told you to give it all away today and become the poorest with the poor, would you? Could you abandon the comforts and trappings of which you are so accustomed to live with and to serve those who have nothing? Could you be the Mother Teresa where you live or is it that God has only called His 11 and Mother Teresa to such a call?

Here is the harder part of the call; our people more important to you than your possessions? God calls you to prefer others above yourself; do you? He calls you to love others as you love yourself, so do you routinely treat associates, venders, partners and employees with respect, and consideration? Do you cheat still to get ahead or do you try to scheme your way to the biggest profit? Are people more important than your money? Do you talk about people who used to work for you in less than flattering ways? Have you lied about them? Is it MORE important for you to make money or to help others? Could you trust God to provide for you as you mentored an employee in your business or do you constantly replace employees without regard for them and their families? Ask yourself this question; do you treat others with love and preference or are you unwilling to trust God to bless you as you bless others?

LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, ALL YOUR MIND, ALL YOUR SOUL AND ALL YOUR SELF AND LOVE YOUR NEIGHBORS AS YOURSELF – That is NOT what it means to be a “GOOD CHRISTIAN”, that is the minimal of what it cost to follow Him.

No matter who you are, You Are Gonna Serve Somebody – it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, it may be your Money or it may be God, but it CAN’T BE BOTH. That is The Word of God and without dispute.

Of What This Kiss?

2011-03-05T20:47:00.000-08:00

Where does the greatest danger lie,

In honest kiss,
or stranger's lie?

Is it yet best
That kiss is gone
or deceptive still it lingers on?

When passion still ignites the coals
Yet only death lives in the soul

Emotions strewn across life's shore

as empty shells and nothing more
Where does the greatest danger lie;

in honest kiss,

or stanger's lie?

Do ever young lovers dare to think

that one or other

may someday sink

to kiss with only lips of flesh

without a thought or smallest care

of whom it is they're kissing there

an empty kiss; devoid of bliss

what must we think
of what this kiss?

Is it a lie

or pledge of hope

or memory of what was best?

Is it a lie

or pledge of hope

perhaps a foolish lover's test

to see if what grew from within

might now reverse

love born again

Where does the greatest danger lie;

in honest kiss,

or stanger's lie?

Is it better that lips grow cold
or continue to kiss beyond love's bloom

tell me, what you think of this

tell me, of what this kiss?

LOVE WITH A PERFECT LOVE

2011-03-02T06:50:00.000-08:00

But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. Romans 14:10

Men who have been terribly hurt do terrible things: the worse is how we mistreat one another. It's a fact that the abused become abusers. Some do it with fists and guns others do it with words, a lot of us do it with attitude and grudges.

What isn't healed will hurt. Too often that hurt will come back to visit those we love the most. So let us, even though we are hurt, remember to exchange love for hate, generosity for abuse, forgiveness for a hardness of heart.

Let us all walk in meekness and remember those who are the meanest among us who deserve the most pity. God forgive each one of us for we all fall far short of the Glory of the Father of us all.

SHOULD CHRISTIANS BORROW AND LEND?

2011-03-01T05:35:00.000-08:00

I have recently been asked repeatedly as to whether or not it is proper for the Christian to loan to those in need. Some have also wondered if we should ask for interests upon that money. There are many Scriptures that instruct us to freely give and as God has blessed us, we should freely bless others. Deu 16:17"Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.” In fact Scripture tells us that God blesses us intentionally, so that we can bless others.

There are time when we can and should lend, but even in lending to other believers we should never give what we cannot afford to get back, for the Word tells us not to demand it back, in fact we should lend with an inner understanding that we do not expect it back, Jesus said, "And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. "But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. LUKE 6:34-35 Due. 14:6,7"If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.

When lending to fellow believers, you are NOT to ask for interest; "If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest. Exodus 22:25

Should believers borrow? The short answer is no, not if it is avoidable. “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8 I do not believe that to borrow is sin, but I do believe that as long as you owe anyone anything, you are in bondage to them, unless as a brother in Christian love it is given without expectation that it will be repaid. The Word warns us; “The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower [is] servant to the lender.” Pro 22:7 “And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.” Isa 24:2

It is for good reason the Word says, “The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.” Due. 28:12

The day of returning to Christian Community is upon us, as the oil prices raise and the Governments force us to rely upon them for our existence, we who are believers must ban together instead and care for each other. I believe the day of independent households may come to an end is quickly; where it will be necessary for Christian Communities to live together in order to survive.

Even now our church is considering ways to support one another so that we do not suffer from the financial crunch which is upon us. Within such Christian Community, understanding of lending and giving will be essential. Someone said last Sunday, “we may have to sell all that we have and depend upon God and one another” and I thought; it sounds like the first church.

Meanwhile, today; here are a few short principles to live by; Avoid debt. If you are in debt, GET OUT OF DEBT as quickly as possible. How do you do that? I would say, Pray – use the resulting blessings to give to God and others and pay off your debt and refuse to get into further debt. You can also sell anything you have not used within the last year and reconsider those nonessential bills and cable is NOT essential; food and gasoline is. That said; rethink what you eat and where you go. You can save a lot by surrendering nonessentials from the grocery list and by planning to do all extra driving in a single day. My daughter lives in a rural area of Ohio. She and her husband do any shopping, go out to eat together or any other running around on the same day each week. She has to plan ahead so that she doesn’t need extra diapers or milk or bread, but making on trip a week to do it all saves a lot in gas.

Most importantly understand that everything you have is a blessing from God and therefore belongs to Him. Don’t get greedy with God’s stuff! Freely give and if asked lend, if you can lend with the understanding that those you lend to may not be able to repay you. And remember the promise of Scripture; pray for yourselves and for your fellow believers; "The LORD your God will bless you as he has promised. You will lend money to many nations but will never need to borrow! You will rule many nations, but they will not rule over you! Due. 14:6

ARE YOU COUNTING THE COST?

2011-02-24T07:06:00.000-08:00

In a quiet moment this morning I began to contemplate the words of Jesus in Luke 14:28 “FOR WHICH OF YOU, INTENDING TO BUILD A TOWER; DOES NOT SIT DOWN FIRST AND COUNT THE COST, WHETHER HE HAS ENOUGH TO FINISH IT”

Your life is like a tower; through it you can reach great heights. But such heights can only be reached through patience and careful planning. A hastily built tower may be beautiful, but with the proper foundation and inter-structure it will not stand the test of storm or time.

Whatever our dreams, they must be built with careful consideration; the finished product will never be better than the preparation and unseen foundation.

Jesus focuses here on another problem; it doesn’t matter if you have “enough” to begin a project if you will not have enough to finish it. “Enough” what, you may ask, Enough money, enough skill, enough endurance, enough vision, enough cooperation, enough of whatever is required to build the tower.

For example, if I choose to build a home and I consider the price of the land, the materials, the time or the energy, but I do not consider what it will cost me to supply lights and heat and transportation to and from that home, if I do not consider what it will cost to insure it or make repairs or to do regular maintenance, than I may very well be able to be a house that I cannot afford to move into.

If I buy my “dream home” and it has all the luxuries a house could offer to a man, what good is it if I cannot afford to live there for any length of time?

Consider a race; you do not win it by how fast you begin. You win a race by how well you finish it.

Whether you’re talking about a race, a house, a tower or your life; the success of it will be measured by how well you finish.

So how do we finish well? Jesus gives us the answers; first He says you need to “SIT DOWN”. Life has a way of rushing us into what we are not prepared to finish. The most important step toward finishing well is taking the time to stop the present momentum of life BEFORE we begin to build.

Only by stopping and sitting down can we honestly “COUNT THE COST”. Every dream comes with a price tag. The question becomes are you willing and able to pay the price for your dream?
We live in an age of entitlement thinking; many people believe that because they have the desire for something, a house, a car, a child, a wife, a retirement; that their desire alone entitles them to their desire.

I may want a luxury automobile, but before I decide to buy one, I need to ask whether I can afford also to store it, as well as operate it. What good is my luxery car if it is sitting unoperational out in the elements?

I am convinced that most people do not count the cost of the most important decisions of their life, therefore it is not surprising that they do not count the cost of how they will finish their lives either.

If we divide our lives into thirds; Youth, Adulthood and Retirement, we can easily understand that in our youth we plan for EVERYTHING; in fact what do you almost automatically ask every child you meet? Don’t you often say, ‘WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW-UP?” We do this instinctively because we understand the importance of a child to possess dreams.

As young adults we plan for our marriages, our children our homes and our kid’s schooling, everything.

Surprisingly most people never plan to get older. In a recent survey of Americans; over 70% said they “plan” on social security to keep them in their retirement. In the same survey nearly 70% of the same people said that they expect The Security System to collapse before they can collect from it. U.S. Census Population Estimates supports such pessimism, it says; “For every 20 people entering the 50+ market... only 1 will be entering the 18-49 demographic over the next five years.” This married to the fact that the Federal Government has already emptied the social security accounts by “borrowing” from them what it cannot afford to repay paints a grim picture indeed.

So in reality, most people have no plan of how they will survive the last third of their lives; a time when, ironically, they will have increased living expenses, especially medical, and little or no income.

If we are going to live well; if we are going to leave a legacy of a job well done, we must heed the words of Jesus, here in the New Living Translation; “SUPPOSE ONE OF YOU WANTS TO BUILD A TOWER, WILL HE NOT FIRST SIT DOWN AND ESTIMATE THE COST TO SEE IF HE HAS ENOUGH MONEY TO COMPLETE IT?”LUKE 14:28

Bitter or Better

2011-02-15T05:57:00.000-08:00

Lately almost daily God has been reminding me that with each day I have a choice to make; I can choose to be BITTER or BETTER. I know it sounds trite but it really is a simple choice that we each need to make.

I can awaken and be thankful for the blessings scattered throughout my life or I can allow myself to focus on the darkness that often evades my space. I can concentrate on the silky beauty of the rose petals; the glory of their beauty or I can dwell upon the ugly stem with its thorns, which prick my skin.

Each day, God hands you a Rose. Each day you have the option of how you will view it. Life is not all beauty, but neither is it all ugliness.

Jesus said, “IN THIS WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TRIALS, BUT I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD”. So trials will come and with each trial, I will be tested, if I persevere with an attitude of gratitude my life will become sweeter and as I press against the burdens, I will ultimately become stronger and BETTER or I can allow the trails to crush me and I will, within my defeated frame of mind become BITTER. Bitterness will not allow me to escape the present heart-ache; however searching the redemption hidden within the trial will certainly help me to endure.

Life is never easy. Some days are better than others, some days are worse. We can, as the old hymn suggests; COUNT OUR BLESSINGS and be thankful for a single ray of hope engulfed in the world of darkness or we can keep a close account of every failed expectation, every disappointment and every accumulated sorrow. Such book-keeping will most certainly leave you feeling worse for your trouble.
Some years ago I was in the midst of losing everything, including my immediate family, as I sat with a Pastor he brought me back to reality. He said, at this point in your life you will either fall upon the One who is The Rock or this Rock of tribulation will fall upon you and crush you. It was a simple if, irrational choice, I could either thank God and fall upon Him or I could surrender and allow the weight of the trail to crush me; I chose to fall upon God.

A few nights later I found myself lying on the ground under the open night sky; as I was lying there looking at the beauty of the constellation I realized I was thanking God that I could freely serve Him; I had no restrictions, nothing more to lose through my obedience to Him and as the Word tells us “THOSE WHO CHRIST SETS FREE ARE FREE INDEED”. What can the enemy take from someone who has already lost it all? I didn’t know where I would be living. I still didn’t have a job or my family. I was out lying in an open field, but beneath that ebony blanket of twinkling stars I realized that I was the King’s Kid and I had nothing more to lose!

You can’t predict what will happen in your life today; neither can you prevent it, but you have a choice will you see the beauty of life or will you cast that beauty aside, afraid of thorns which surely accompany that beauty; the choice is yours, will you become BITTER OR BETTER?

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

2011-02-14T03:48:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day is a great day toreexamine this wonderful Blessing called Love. While much of the world will only be celebrating the physical aspect of love, for the Christian Believer
Love ought to be a celebration of who we are; if Our God is Love and we are to
like Him, we also ought to exhale Love.

Love is not an Emotion; true love is so much more. True Love is Commitment and Covenant and sacrifice. Love is giving; true love cares more for the other person than for ourselves and we cling to one another, not until or emotions run dry, but as they ebb and flow
throughout life.

I spoke to a man who wasburying his wife of 60 plus years. I said, "And you never had a bad day . ." He laughed, "very few bad days, we had a couple bad
months and even a couple sets of bad years, but in our later years we never
left one another and we were so glad that we had held on, but of course, we
were never abusive or anything like that, but we weren't always friendly . .
" he paused and with a tear running down his face said, "We always
loved one another."

We use the word LOVE to describe our favorite TV show to our House to our
spouse and children; we most often forget hat REAL LOVE is, Let's go bad to the
God's Word and rediscover God's definition of LOVE:

1 Corinthians 13

If I speak in the tongues of men or
of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging
cymbal.

² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries
and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not
have love, I am nothing.

³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body
to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is
patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

⁵ It does not
dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no
record of wrongs

⁶ Love does not
delight in evil but rejoices with the trust

⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails.

But where there are prophecies, they
will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is
knowledge, it will pass away.

⁹ For we know in
part and we prophesy in part,

¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.

¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a
child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of
childhood behind me.
¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we
shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I
am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the
greatest of these is love.

How To Love Your Wife

2011-02-10T13:16:00.001-08:00

Ok men, this is a day late, but just as valid as if I had
written it yesterday.

This lesson comes as much from life-experience as anything I
have ever heard or read. In as much as you and my fellow men need to feel
respected in order to know we are loved, our wives need to feel “cherished”

This is a tall order, if you think not consider the words
of The Apostle Paul; “HUSBANDS, LOVE
YOUR WIVES, JUST AS CHRIST LOVED THE CHURCH AND GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR HER . . .”
EPHESIANS 5:25

A newly-wed husband recently asked me, “When am I going to
figure out my wife?” Isn’t that just lie a man? Give me the instructions, tell
me what to do and I can make this thing work! Give me the code now and I will
be gold for the next 60 years or whatever we might have together . . . I answered the young groom as honestly as I could, “NEVER! About the time you begin to know what pushes her buttons,
the buttons will change! Once you know where they are, the buttons will move!”
The young man look like he wanted to cry. I said, “Son, Marriage; like life is
a journey, not a destination! "

I can’t ‘tell’ you how to cherish your wife, but she can and if you listen, she will
and those directions will change about as often as you change your socks. You
can only hope that you are doing your best, in loving her as she needs, in as
much as you are in constant communication with her. Doesn’t the love of Christ
Always find us, regardless of where we are? And so must your love always be
there for her. The only way to define it or where it should be is to be in
constant communication with her. This much I can promise, the only love which
will allow her to know that she is cherished is the love that is costly to you.
Real, eternal, unconditional love will cost you EVERYTHING, ETERNALLY. You must
not only be willing to lay down your life for your wife; real love can be
experienced by any lesser price.

But in the words of a wise man; “THE ONE WHO LOVES HIS WIFE,
LOVES HIS LIFE” EPHESIANS 5:28 AMEN!

MAY YOU EVER BE CAPTIVAED BY HER LOVE

2011-02-08T04:20:00.001-08:00

“A LOVING DOE, A
GRACEFUL DEER – MAY HER BREASTS SATISFY YOU ALWAYS, MAY YOU EVER BE CAPTIVAED
BY HER LOVE” PROVERBS 5:19

I remember a
Christmas movie in which children had to quote a Bible Verse in order to get a
Christmas treat and a rotten little boy quoted this one and shocked the bitter
old bitty from the church handing out the goodies. My best friend Dave use to
also claim this as his favorite passage of Scripture, but the truth is every
bit of Scripture is given to us for a reason.

We live in a day, where ungodly prudishness and self-manufactured righteousness
prevents the church from addressing life-issues in a meaningful relevant manner
or in some cases where God’s gifts of desire and the mystery of a Godly union
is depicted as something lurid and disgusting by men and women with an
unhealthy view of love and marriage and the marriage bed.

In recent years the divorce rate among believers is as high as it is among
non-believers, adultery is rampant and pornography use among believers is
epidemic. The occupation with the second highest divorce rate is pastoral
ministry, this ought not to be. You
rarely see married believers showing any signs of affection for one another;
many, once they are married no longer care about their physical appearance or
whether or not their spouse still finds them attractive and we wonder how sin
creeps in.

If we men
would take the instruction for our relationships from God’s Word; if our women
would look within for their instructions as well, the divorce rate would not
match that of those who do not serve our God, Christian couples would be, as
they should be among the closest and happiest and most satisfied, throughout
their long live together.

As Valentine’s
Day approaches, here is a suggestion from God’s Word how men should desire
their wives; “A LOVING DOE, A
GRACEFUL DEER – MAY HER BREASTS SATISFY YOU ALWAYS, MAY YOU EVER BE CAPTIVAED
BY HER LOVE” Men; see what God is saying - your wife is a beautiful, graceful creature –
let HER BEAUTY satisfy you always! The beauty that drew you to her the beauty
that captivated you – the longing you still possess, he says your wife is to be
the woman that you desire. And here is the natural progression of a man’s love;
her physical beauty may attract you, but He says allow her love to hold you.
God says; literally allow yourself to be a prisoner of her love; a bond slave,
just as it was Christ’s great love for us that allowed Him to give Himself for
us, so our great love for our wives ought to allow us to love our wives as
Christ loves the Church. Women; understand, God has created your husband to
desire your physical beauty, so rather than resent him for that, understand
that is how he is wired. While no one wants a one dimensional love, (That’s all
he wants from me!), a smart woman understands her man’s desires and feeds those
desires to keep as they use to say, the home fires burning.

Tomorrow a
word to you men about your women need.

What is Church?

2011-02-07T04:14:00.000-08:00

I can remember sitting in Sunday School as a 4 year old and being taught
that "the church" was God's People, wherever they gathered. That was
what I was told, but through the years "Church" became defined by practical
experience of being something much more mechanical and artificial.

I soon learned that "Church" as it was practiced was not so much a
living organism, but rather a stale organization. It was a business based upon
a formal hierarchy; our product was Jesus, our customers; were believers who
had to give according to code and attend a certain number of meetings to stay
in good standard. You were expected not only to attend, but also to
"Volunteer" so that the business would grow, although we always told
ourselves that our business was to reach unbelievers.

I learned that "Church" was a complex spider web of laws. These
laws were to be found in the Bible. The particular important laws were decided
by either the Church board or the Church Pastor.

Every church I ever attended had a liturgy; an order of service, in the more
formal churches this was written out for you in a bulletin, in the ones that
considered themselves "more spiritual" the liturgy was just known
with the key elements projected on the wall by overhead. In the more formal
church we dressed-up more, with suit and tie and sang songs out of hymnals; in
the “more spiritual” churches we still dressed-up, but out of choice to “honor
God”, rather than by compulsion and we sang our songs “more freely” because
they weren’t written on paper, but shone on the wall. In the more formal church
we had a choir, in the “more spiritual church” we had a worship leader, who was
like the Mick Jagger of Church because he fronted the Praise band. In the more
formal church the songs were old, tried and true; in the “more spiritual”
churches they were new and often less true. One thing all the church structures
had in common; Church was about how many
services you attended and how much you gave, either financially or personally
through work to the church.

Today, by God’s grace and direction, we have gone back to being “The Church”
as identified when I was a child. We are God’s People and Church happens
wherever we happen to be, sometimes in the most uncommon of situations – just
like often happened with Jesus.

When we gather, we may or may not sing; we seldom preach, there is still an
order of service as much as we try to break that pattern. Attendance,
participation and giving are out of desire not compulsion. We have no programs
or formal “ministries”. Each member of the body is a minister and participates
in the service as God leads and may function through any of the Spiritual
Gifts, which are seen as function rather than position. Our model is the New
Testament Church, rather than the religious tardyons of men. We are not “More
Spiritual” than any other form of Church; we are true to who God has called us
to be. It is exiting to be more Organic; a living organism that functions
without board, horizontal hierarchy. We don’t go to church; we are the church.

The Forgotten Song of Praise

2011-02-02T21:56:00.000-08:00

Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?
"Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this
foreigner?" LUKE 17:12-17

Ten men came to Jesus; each were equally in need, ten asked to be healed, Jesus performed the same miracle for each one of the ten and ONLY ONE
came back to say, “Thank you!” That is the nature of ministry.

How often have you been discouraged by the thanklessness of people you have reached out to help? How many times have you wanted to turn your back on anyone else due to the rotten attitude of most?

Men were no different when Jesus walked the earth; they came needy and asking and receiving, but having received they quickly moved on and quickly forgot to give God praise.

So many times I have seen good men and women of God pour their very lives into people who not only walked away, but forgot them or even turn on them, as well. So many times the children of Pastors have been pushed aside as their father do their best to carry for others, who then walk away ungrateful. Those who have received never consider the cost, not only to the Man of God, but to his family as well. His family has lost hours with their father that he will never be able to give back to them in order to care for others who in turn, never even say, “Thank you!”

Even more interesting is the fact that the man who did return to say “Thank You!” was the unbeliever. While Christ healed believers and unbelievers alike, it was only one of the unbelievers who returned to praise God, why?

It is the man who KNOWS that no goodness resides in him that appreciates the vastness of the goodness of God when he experiences it. It is the broken man, the fallen man, the sin-stained man, the humble man who understands that he does not deserve to have his negligent ways rewarded by God’s direct attention; “I ONCE WAS LOST, BUT KNOW I’M FOUND – WAS BLIND BUT NOW I SEE!” It is
often we; who claim to love God, walk with God, trust in God who come to
believe somehow because of our belief in Him that He OUGHT to reward us; God
help us.

Please understand; God does NOT love you because you are good and He does NOT hate you because you are bad, neither do you go to Heaven because you ARE good and to Hell because you are bad; you are rewarded, you experience God’s goodness because HE IS GOD and HE IS GOOD. Let us each one Thank God for His Unmerited Favor. Amen!

Thank God Who Never Fails

2011-02-02T05:59:00.000-08:00

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever." Amen. Ephesians 3::20,21

Do not let us forget from whom our blessings come. Frustration becomes manifest in our lives and anxiety in our hearts when we take upon ourselves the burdens of succeeding. Our good Father knows beyond and before we can ask or even think of what our needs are. Will not the One who cares for the smallest of His creatures care for you and I.

Regardless of the challenge before us today, join me in giving glory to God. Let us thank Him for His goodness. Let us thank Him for His abundance. Let us thank Him for His eternal love, with which He loves you and me and for His boundless mercies, which are new every morning. "THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD - I SHALL NOT WANT!"

Thank you Lord for watching over us this day. Thank you for your boundless love and matchless Grace. Thank You for going before us and opening the gates of your favor. Thank You for making the way in the wilderness where there seems to be no way. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen!

Another Man

2011-01-28T04:13:00.000-08:00

Ok, here's the deal; my wife is involved with another man. Even worse is the fact that they are trying to do away with me!

She's been spending ALOT of time on line with Dr. Oz. You know the guy; he claims to be a Dr. in real life and plays one on TV. Yeah, he's the one that put subversive ideas into women's heads about nutrition and fruits and nuts and speaking of fruits and nuts, this guy has convinced my wife that I need to be taking vitamins!

Tammy said, "Gary, I got you some vitamins today!" I said, "Ok", but I was thinking tiny little "One a Days" or even better "Chewy Flintstone", but no, and I should have known, she sounded funny when she told me. I opened my pill box to find capsules are large as a healthy cockroach and looking just about as easy to swallow. The "main vitamin" is slightly larger than that and has the consistency of concrete! Get this, there are a total of nine for each day - nine! I wanted to ask her, "When you look at me do you see skin and bones?" Do you have some kind of "spouse anorexia" or something? Do these love handles look fragile to you?

I thought, oh well at nine a day, at least they won't last long, but that's when she said, "I got such a good deal, I got a supply of 500." 500, she be shoving these things up my noe after I dead and cold.

I'm certain, Tammy's obsession with this Dr. Kildare wanna-be, that she's hoping I choke to death during my twice a day ingestion of these pills.

She is obsessed with this man, its "Dr. Oz...This and Dr. Oz. that and Dr. Oz says, and I really don't care what this Wizard says! I can't even talk to her that she's not watching him on her laptop or reading something new that he has written. I said, "Exercise and eating right doesn't help, Jack LaLane just died!" Tammy says, "But he was 96" But I'm sharp, she doesn't fool me, "Well, if he hadn't worked so hard, he might have made 100!"

Even worse, I came home from work the other night; she had dinner waiting for me. I sat down in my recliner and she brought me my plate like she always does, but it's full of salad! I couldn't help but ask, "Do I look like Bugs Bunny? Am I showing signs of carrot withdraw? C'mon!" Do you see how diabolical this is? Tammy just smiled and said, "Eat that and I'll bring you Pasta!" She lied; what she put on my next plate was about the size of a deck of playing cards and I think she called it "natural" lasagna. Let me tell you, there wasn't anything natural about it.

This is the same night she introduced me back to "whole" milk. I had forgotten what real milk tastes like; it was so think that I think it has EVERYTHING in it, including the cow. It even comes in a glass bottle that we are required to rinse out and return for a deposit. This is forward thinking?

Anyway, after my near - fatal tooth brushing episode and my new eating regimen, I am convinced that my wife and Dr. Oz have something going on. I really am happy that she wants me to be healthier, and she wants to eat right, but just in case I die of malnutrition or exertion, you all know the two to blame!

Consider this: Life is the best teacher of living truth.

2011-01-20T22:19:00.000-08:00

Life is the best teacher of living truth.

It's been said, "ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS". I may say "I believe in you son!" But if I never give my son the opportunity to fail or succeed. My words become meaningless.

The father has to allow his son become a prodigal before he could see His Heavenly Father bring his boy home again.

Too often the silent message in "Church" as in Business is "YOU DARE NOT FAIL" If you take a Sunday School Class and the kids aren't entertained, you're not going to be asked to sing in the church pageant. You blow a presentation or forget an appointment and many times you will not get a second chance. It ought not be that way in the Kingdom of God or in Life.

But how do we grow, if we never fail? How do we succeed and how do we appreciate that success if we have not first failed? Not a single one of us could learn to walk as adult, as we learned as infants. Do you know why? Because as adult mind stumbling and falling down are too often equated with failure. I heard a remarkable man who had to learn to walk as an adult after a serious illness had crippled him say, "As long as I saw falling as failure, I was stuck in the wheelchair, when I decided that each time I fell I was actually closer to walking, after all walking is just a controlled fall forward, I began to walk!"

What message are you sending your loved ones? Are you lovingly allowing them to strive an to try, even if it means they fail? Are you as willing to love them if they don't succeed as if they do?

The Prodigal Son came home to family and to God and was welcomed with open arms - they threw a party, not because he had squandered all that he had, not because he had stained the family's good name, not because he was once young and foolish and fell in the pits with the pigs, no. They celebrated because he who was once lost had been found, the one who had fallen and fallen and fallen had finally learned to walk and to stand.

FATHER GOD,
WE ALL FAIL, BUT MAY I BE AS B GRACIOUS WITH MY BROTHER AS I DESIRE YOU TO BE WITH ME. MAY MY LOVED ONES ALLOW ME TO BE AS GRACIOUS WITH OTHERS AS THEY DESIRE YOU TO BE WITH THEM. IN JESUS NAME. AMEN!

Jesus' Prayer For You

2011-01-20T04:11:00.000-08:00

“I DO NOT PRAY FOR THESE ALONE, BUT ALSO FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN ME THROUGH THEIR WORD; THAT THEY MAY BE ONE, AS YOU, FATHER, ARE IN ME, AND I IN YOU; THAT THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE IN US, THAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE THAT YOU SENT ME. AND THE GLORY WHICH YOU GAVE ME I HAVE GIVEN THEM, THAT THEY MAY BE ONE JUST AS WE ARE ONE;” John 17:20-22

If you could ask Jesus to pray for you, what would you ask Him to pray? Perhaps you would ask for wealth or fame or eternal security. Would you ask for health or joy or greater virtue? Jesus is ever-interceding before the Father for you and I, but look at how He prayed, for his disciples, but also all of us who believe in Him through their words;
“I DO NOT PRAY FOR THESE ALONE, BUT ALSO FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN ME THROUGH THEIR WORD; THAT THEY MAY BE ONE, AS YOU, FATHER, ARE IN ME, AND I IN YOU; THAT THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE IN US, THAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE THAT YOU SENT ME. AND THE GLORY WHICH YOU GAVE ME I HAVE GIVEN THEM, THAT THEY MAY BE ONE JUST AS WE ARE ONE;”

Dear ones, Christ knows nothing of casual “Sunday Relationships”; His desire, His design is that we share life and that life eternal. How are we to relate to one another? Look at the relationship of His Disciples; they left family, fortune, home and possessions to follow Christ and before He left He ask the Father to make it a permanent relationship and soon baptized them in the Holy Spirit, that the impossible become reality.

I have always seen Church Membership and the Marriage Covenant one and the same. I believe we are to carefully follow God to where we are suppose to be and unless blatant, unrepentant sin akin to adultery enters in we are to do the impossible and having covenanted together, grow there. “What, for the rest of our lives?” What is the Disciples example to us? What is Christ praying here?

Thank God the Holy Trinity cannot strive against itself and fall apart. Is that not the relationship that Christ is praying for us to experience?

He never intended for us to be jumping from place to place, church to church, every time we got our feelings hurt, or we like the worship somewhere else better or the programs “over there” more than where we are. What “programs” did the Disciples enjoy? Do you think Peter was the best Worship Leader in the entire known world? Do you think, for a minute that the Disciples all got along with one another all the time? Apparently not; look at this prayer; “THAT THEY MAY BE ONE, AS YOU FATHER, ARE IN ME, AND I IN YOU”. Christ asks His Father to engraft us into a “Trinity Relationship”; we are to be so tightly knit together that the world cannot see me without seeing you. That is why it is written, “THEY WILL KNOW WE ARE CHRISTIANS BY OUR LOVE”.

God calls us to something more. God calls us to something permanent. God calls us to something impossible, by man; but the only way to continually grow in Him; that we be ONE, even as He and the Father are One. Amen!

2011-01-19T03:59:00.000-08:00

AND GOD PUT ALL THINGS UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF CHRIST,

AND HE GAVE HIM THIS AUTHORITY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE CHURCH” EPHESIANS 1:22 NIV

Carefully read this promise of God. God, who is authority over ALL, passed that same authority with Christ. He did it for the believer’s benefit – for you and I who believe.

Let me state the obvious; God has made Christ the head, over all things created for our benefit. If God who created all things is above all things and shares that authority with our Savior for our sakes, what does that mean? Dear brothers, sisters, it means that you and I also stand in the authority of God over every underling that would raise its ugly head to defeat us.

Secondly, God has not shared such put ALL THINGS under the authority of Christ for a building. Isn’t that most of us are think of when we say, “Church”? NO, the church is the living-breathing expression of God in this earth – “The Church” are God’s people; His Redeemed. Christ did not die to have victory over buildings or denominations or name plates. God put all things under the authority of Christ so that nothing should rule over us; all sin is already subjected to His authority, all principalities and powers, every trial tribulation and heart-ache. That is not to say that we will never experience such battles; it does indicate that we have already won those battles as we face them.

Jesus said, “You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can't possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don't have what you want is that you don't ask God for it.” JAMES 4:2

Why is it that you are I are more likely to fight and strain and scheme than to merely turn to the Father who loves us and ask? Dare I say we are crippled by the lack of wisdom and faith? I say wisdom rather than knowledge because most believers understand that God is able to help, but, by our lack of faith, we don’t know how to ask. Our natural initial response is to struggle on our own rather than to turn to the One who has been all authority over Heaven and earth and ask.

Let us, who are the Church look to our Head, who is not the Elders or the Pastor, but is Christ and let us freely ask Him for all that we need. Amen!

GOOD TO KNOW

2011-01-18T03:56:00.000-08:00

"HE HAS SHOWERED HIS KINDNESS ON US,

ALONG WITH ALL WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING."

EPHESIANS 1:8 NIV

God is the perfect Father; He showers His children with kindness not because we deserve it, but because He can do nothing else. The unbeliever might say, "but doesn't He issue warnings and corrections; isn't there ugliness in this world all around us?" Of course the answer to all three questions is yes, but the warnings and corrections are born of His unfailing love for us, while the ugliness of this temporal world is born of man's own sin nature, which is born of His independence from God.

It is sin that stains the good intentions of men and women apart from God. Our best intentions our best efforts are meaningless and futile apart from the blessings of God; for example, the parent who refuses to punish the child that they love. That parent often lives to see that child's life destroyed due to the lack of self-control and recklessness at the hands of the enemy who seeks to destroy us all, unless that child should first turn to God who is ever ready to restore him.

Father God's kindness does not come as a trickle or sporadically; He showers us with kindness. His kindness reaches places within us that ourselves cannot even touch, just as a shower of water completely immerses you.

God's kindness alone would be enough and yet God says, "No, there is more . . ." "HE HAS SHOWERED HIS KINDNESS ON US, ALONG WITH ALL WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING."

When God offered Solomon of old the possession of anything in all of His Creation, Solomon chose the wisdom. Wisdom is the knowledge to understand the heart and ways of God. How can creation begin to understand its Creator? We can only begin to understand the heart and the will of God as God Himself grants us that ability. Such understanding makes all life right. The ability to be raised-up above the obstacles that block our view, the troubles that hinder our hearts, the worries that cloud our minds; to begin to understand His ways which are higher than our own, oh dear friend, what a blessing, and that blessing is called wisdom. Don't the "whys" of life help us to understand the "don'ts"?

And while Wisdom allows us to better know our God, Understanding helps us to better know ourselves we can rely upon our mind, but God says our minds have been corrupted by sin: He says we need our minds renewed. We can rely upon our hearts, but He reminds us that our hearts are deceitful above all things; our hearts will lie to us, so where do we find our direction for life? We need Understanding, which comes from God.

Look at the promise we have before us his day. What does God say? What does He promise? "HE HAS SHOWERED HIS KINDNESS ON US, ALONG WITH ALL WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING."

So today let you and I accept these gifts with grateful hearts, let us each one say, "YES LORD, SHOWER ME IN YOUR KINDNESS AND WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING, THAT I MIGHT LIVE MY LIFE THIS DAY IN A WAY WHICH BRINGS GLORY TO YOU! AMEN!"

Garden of Friendship

2010-12-31T04:08:00.000-08:00

Very often I discover myself considering and sharing concerning the value of friendship; what I often refer to as "Sacred Trusts", in fact in my phone contacts I have my friends listed under this heading to remind me that it is God who have brought the individuals that I call friends into my life.

Ironically, as much as I value friendship, I am not always, by nature the most efficient when it comes to nurturing them. Like the beautiful flowers in a gardener's flower bed, friendships are given to us in seed form, but He allows us the tasks of planting them, watering them and the hard tasks of weeding them.

As most writers, I embrace the competing value of solitude; I'm a homebody and I like to sit alone and think. Such a value is not consistent with tending the garden of friendship. I struggle often and mostly fail with visiting even my closest family; as much as I love them and as certainly as I enjoy visiting with them, ashamedly, I could go for months or years and never visit. While God has apparently given me a great propensity to love, He has also bestowed a limited reserve of creative energy to do any two things simultaneously. At the end of the work day my natural instinct is to crawl into the solitude of home and vanish to the world; such a nature is not conducive to relationship building. As an individual who is a "People-Person" and as one who appreciates all the positive and healing virtues of living community, ironically given the option on most days, I seek solitude. Relaxing on the couch or writing at a desk does little to see the the entrusted garden of God is being well-tended.

Yesterday morning God allowed me to blow the dust off the of my forsaken plants. I think I tired the twine around one of my oldest specimens to give it a fresh start. I used to love to grow gladiolas. Glads are beautiful and showy, pretty easy to plant, easy to weed around and for the most part they are pest resistant, however, because they grow so quickly and to such good height, there tall lanky stems require the additional exterior support of post and twine. With such support there is nothing quit as captivating as a full garden of glads. Let alone the otherwise healthy and potentially beautiful bed becomes an eyesore of twisted and broken stems, blooms buried in dirt and green.

The eldest of our friendships are like those glads; the roots go deep, but the need a little extra attention to keep them at their best. So yesterday, I was blessed with the warmth and sunshine of God to tend to such a relationship.

Dave Smalley has been a friend of mine since before "The Summer of 42", before "Mash" and long before Paul Harvey came to our radios to tell us "The Rest of The Story". I was 15 and biting at the heels of Lennon and McCartney to steal their limelight. I was full of a love of writing and playing music and not much else. I often pulled around me mates who had the same hunger and vision and surprisingly, like the four lads from Liverpool, the resulting sounds were far better collaboratively than they were apart; Joe and Bob Halaz, Jack Deater, J.D. Mace, my twin (when his conscience would allow), Jim Thacker, Mark Justice, Dave and Kennt River and later their sister; Linda, Don Tipton, Frank Lemaster, Denise Wright, Barb Olson, Tim (whose last name escapes me) and Dave Smalley, as well as his brother Bob.

Not all those musicians and singers formed one band, but most all of us have played together in one combination or another within a period of six years. Whatever variation, the result for a local garden was amazing. I hear "professional bands" and local bands of today and I am amazed at the quality of the planting that God allowed me to be a part of. Two other neglected plants were also pretty good, the first was a black bass guitar player that I think Jack brought into the mix; I forget his name, but he played a mean slap bass and then there was a drummer who auditioned for us one week, we turned him down and he signed with country singer Tom T. Hall in Nashville the very next week. He was good, but was just not a good "fit" for us; he was a like a single Hollyhock in a planting of Gladiolus.

But Dave; Dave was my brother, not by birth, but by choice. We developed a communication that allowed us to move on stage as one. We could "know" what the other was going to do even before we knew ourselves. He and I used to echo one another voice to guitar long before I had ever heard anyone do it. I would scat a melody line and he would echo it back to me note for note on guitar and then he would solo a melody to me and I would sing it back to him. I'm certain that our audiences thought those long and hopefully entertaining bits were well rehearsed, but they never were, they were always impromptu.

The thing about a real relationship is that it perfects the participants within. I sang notes with Dave that I have never hit again and I am certain that he feels that I helped him develop as an artist as well. That's the value of friendship isn't it? God has a garden in mind; blossoms that He desires to see in all the radiant glory, so He hands us the seed. He says, "tend it well!" Gives us the sunshine and the rain and sits back to see if we make of it all that He intended.

As I have already said, yesterday I dug-up the bulb of a treasured planting, Dave and I blew of the dust, put it back in the grown and are waiting to see the beauty that God has planned.

Don't forsake your gardens of friendship.

Consider the Lillies

2010-12-30T05:00:00.000-08:00

"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin" Are there any flowers that are more simple in design or a purer white? Are there any of God's flowers with cleaner lines? How graceful they are. See how they so easily sway in the warm summer's breeze. Lovely; quiet and gentle in nature.

How much better off would we be, if like children; we could completely trust our Heavenly Father? How wonderul would it be if, like the lillies through no effort their own, we could grow into the grace and beauty that God has created us to reflect?

How much better would life be if through no effort or our own or anything of our own goodness
or religion we just came into His likeness, growing tall and strong and pure?

"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."

Father may we grow to be graceful; filled with your grace. May we grow today into your likeness for your glory and for your name's sake. Amen.

The Greatest Blessing We Have Are One Another

2010-12-29T20:28:00.000-08:00

The Greatest Blessing We Have Are One Another, perhaps that is why Jesus used the phrase repeatedly. After all, our bodies fail, circumstances change and friendships and even relationships which should remain eternal, sometimes disintegrate. I have long said that Friendship is a Sacred Trust: it is God who bring people into our lives for mutual benefit - whom God has joined together, let no man put asunder! Friendship is a form of marriage, is it not? Doesn't true friendship require commitment and trust and sacrifice and communication? We shouldn't be surprised then in a culture that does not value marriage friendship is no longer cherished as it once was.

The most difficult part of the decision to leave Linden is leaving the good friends I have made there behind. I won't be going far away, but I doubt that Pastor Larry or Pastor Washington or oh, half the community are going to "drop by" Westerville just to say hello.
This past few days I have made two new friends. And our friendship will no doubt span the years ahead, but it will also have to span the globe for they are living in Japan. I already have my spiritual brother and sister Nori and Barbie Kelley over there, but I have just met this beautiful couple and I hope that we can become partners on this journey through life together.

From the moment Talya and Mark sat down with me, I felt a kinship. Even though they had come to make funeral arrangements for her mother, there was a joy and a confidence that said, "They have placed their trust in God".

The wonderful treasure of recent years; meeting people in a time of immediate need and being available to be a balm and a comfort to them, I will sincerely miss. In my new position, I will still be helping people, but to what degree remains to be seen. Hopefully, even more than I am now.

Just yesterday Mrs. J., an elderly lady who comes in monthly to pay on her pre-need funeral arrangements, came in like clockwork with her usual $ 50.73 to the penny in cash. When I told her that I would be leaving, she got upset and began to cry. For over six years we have met monthly and made a "business transaction" , but we have also talked about the Lord; my how she loves Jesus! Before she left, she said "Before I go Pastor, I just need to hug you!" And she did and cried some more. A few years ago I helped her bury her husband and monthly, ever since we have been encouraging one another. I will miss her more than she can guess, because, you know; whatever business you're in, if it's not God's Business and the People's Business, You're in the wrong business!

Anyone can sell a casket, a suit or a car. With training anyone could be an electrician, a dentist or an attorney, but the bottom line is no matter what your business is, if it's not about doing the best you can for others to the Glory of God - you are merely in the funeral business of retail or car sales or whatever. Don't we have enough plumbers, electricians and attorneys? What we need are brothers and sisters who have those skills, but are in their positions because they love people and they work to the Glory of God.

Yes, I am a rich man indeed! I haven't made very much money during the past 6 years. I am grateful for what I have made, but it pales in comparison to the army of friends I have made doing my best to help others heal through a difficult time in their lives.

If you are reading this before bed - say a prayer for your friends. If it is morning and you have been given a few more precious hours; invest them in caring for one another. In the end there is Faith, Hope and Love, but the greatest of these is Love!

It's difficult to be so transparent

2010-12-27T22:39:00.000-08:00

I never expected to live to be 25 years of age, so you can imagine my surprise to be approaching 57. The problem with not expecting to live long, is that you tend to live for the moment; but moments soon become days and days become weeks and weeks; months and months; years and before you know it you not only lived to be 21 and then 25, but soon you are 55.

I remember the day, I believe I was about 53; that's when I realized that I was no longer a boy. Wasn't it only a few weeks ago that wel-intentioned adults would prod me; asking, "What do you want to be when you grow-up?"

I always thought it a most ridiculas question. What do suppose I will be? Don't all young boys grow-up to be men and then boys again, or was I a rare biological mistake who would morph into some kind of alternative life-form? I always wanted to answer something silly and sometimes did; "I think I would fancy to be a horse, or a cow; yes a cow and then when I am thirsty, I could just milk myself!"

Of couse young men in my day were'nt suppose to answer an adult in such a flippant manner, after all it hadn't been that long since adults routinely said "Children are supposed to be seen and not heard", so to be spoken to at all was considered an honor and of course we were expected to answer an adult; i.e. "anyone older than yourself - even your brother or sister" with respect. I once said to Mrs. Junk, "with all due respect, I rather think I would fancy to be a horse, no a cow . . ." My father's large hand left a stinging ringing in my left ear and I said immediately, "A Boxer".

Of all the difficult lessons for me to learn was the one about silence being golden. I would often lie awake at night in my bed, my twin brother snoring a few feet away from me. I would replay every careless word that I had said throughout the previous day, "You dummy, why did you say THAT?" Why didn't you say something else instead?" "When Cindy Junk asked you if you thought she was cute, why did you say, "yeah - for a girl!" "What does THAT mean? She probably thinks you like boys!"

I would often move from chastising myself for what I said to harping on myself for how much I said; "Tonight,in the Olson car, do you really think that it was necessary to go into a half-hour story about your boring life just because Mike's mom ask you how you were?" "She is never going to drive you anywhere again!"
My worries were not confined to merely the things I said, but I also burn a lot of midnght oil talking out loud to myself about my future failings. You see, there was no question that I might succeed, I had wrinkles by the time I was 15 from hundeds of late night hours of planning to fail. I spent from the time I was 10 until I was 16 arranging alabi's for why I failed my driver's test. Then when my twin wrecked mom's robin blue Ford Falcon the week after our 16th birthday, I wasn't allowed to go for my license for another two years. Another two years of twighlight alabi collecting to do.

I also remember hours of talking to myself about what I would tell everyone when I didn't graduate High School with my class. This didn't really become an obsession until I was in my Freshman year at Adena High School, so I only had four years of jeering over this to endure. Some kids may have worried that they wouldn't finish High School at all. However, in our house, that was not an option. My mother always said that Jerry and I would graduate if we had to keep going until we were 25. I could imagine me walking across the football field to receive my diployma with a wife and two kids in tow.

I did have a wife and 2 kids by the time I was 25, but fortunately, I had already graduated High School, probably because this was before state mandatory testing and A's in Art, Music and Drama were still credits which counted toward a High School diploma. I failed Mr. Vetters practical Math Class 3 times, because, A. I didn't see where it was THAT practical and B. I refused to stand-up at the chalk board and allow him to humiliate me.

Mr. Vetter had a particularly cruel teaching methodology in which it was his practice to make students go to the chalk board to work out problems in front of the whole class. Each time you answered correctly, he would give you another problem and he would continue giving you consistently tougher problems until you missed one, which was his cue to ridicule you with "snappy" little remarks like, "I hope you have a bank someday, I would love to do business with someone who can't count any better than you." This treatment wasn't reserved or just special stuents; Mr. Veters was an equal opportunity humiliater.

The first day in his class he got me to the board once; "Holman, John and Peter are traveling down the road at 60 miles an hour. They run their car off a steep cliff and are falling at a rate of 6 feet per second, if the cliff is a hundred feet high, how long will it take them before they crash into the rocks below - what do you think?" : "Mr. Vetters this is practical math right?" "Yes, Holman, quit stalling, what do you think?" "Well, practically speaking, I think John is grabbing Peter and they could care less how long it's gonna take them to hit the bottom!" The class roared, but not as loud as Mr. Vetters as he ecourted me out into the hallway. I got to sit down but not until he nearly crcked his paddle across my backside.

I never went to the chalk board again. Evey day, Mr. Vetters would come to me first and say, "You get up to the board or you get a zero for the day" And I would say, "I may get a zero, but you are not going to humiliate me in front of the class ever again!" Three years of zeros and X's for the days I skipped his class - my record looked like a giant Tic -Tac Toe Game. However Mr. Vetters never got me to the chalk board again.

On the last day of my Junior year I approached Mr. Vetters after class. "I know you have given me all zeros and you have the right to flunk me again, but if you do I will be in your class again next fall!"

Somehow, I finally passed Freshman Math with a low D, but I passed it.Perhaps it was the honest conversation that I had engaged him in or perhaps it was finding his VW Bug on it's roof in the middle of the gym floor that same day that made him question whether he wanted me as a student again the next year. I am not saying I had anything to do with flipping that car, but finding it minutes after our talk was sort of an exclamation point to how upset a whole lot of students were with his teaching methods and perhaps he was hoping to prevent future demonstrations of frustration the next year by weeding out the most likely suspects.

No, I never expected that a long-haired Rock n Roll playing, math flunkin skinny kid would ever live to be 21 or 25, but here I am today 56 and looking downhill at 57. It hasn't been an easy trip. I hit my mid-life crises at 30. I clearly remember nearly going hysterical to my wife;afraid that I wouldn't get all m songs recorded for posterity before I went horizontal. "What have I done with my life? I have no Grammys or Oscars or Gold or Platinum Records! I don't want to die a failure!" Tammy in her most composed, logical voice argued, What about me and the girls; don't we count for something?" Then, in my most grievous speak-before-you-think moments, I said, "You were easy!" That couldn't be further from the truth and I certainly didn't mean to cast aspersions toward my wife's purity, however it was going to be difficult for me to explain that to the mad woman rushing me. For once in my life my mouth couldn't move fast enough - the words which had always taunted me by their abundant fluidity couldn't find their way out of my big mouth! "Wait!" I stammered looking into the abyss of Hell, "I mean I want to do something meaningful!" "I'm NOT meaningful, no I'm easy!" "No, I meant loving you is easy - (good save Gary) - "and of course having you and the girls are important - you're all great, but I want to be SOMEBODY!' "You are somebody Gary because God loves you." "Yeah, well that's only because He has too - God IS Love, be kind of hard for him not to love me!" With a "you-wanna-bet-look" in her eyes, she stopped coming toward me when I said through sobs, "Tammy, I am not even a has-been; I'm a NEVER-WAS!" Tammy softened and said "I want us to be enough". Now how do you argue with that?

I can finally say, without a lot of effort, I may never get a grammy or the recording career I should have pursued when I was a younger man. I may never get all my songs recorded, although I have gotten some of them done. I may slip out of this life, the way I came in, unnoticed, except by those closest to me, those who love for for who I am, not what I am, and isn't that better than slipping out not noticed or loved at all?
I can now look at the woman who slept with me nearly every night for the past nearly 26 years and I realize that we love each other more now than we ever have and that has to count for something. I look at my four daughter, each so beautiful and yet each so different and I see what lovely young women and hard workers they each are and that has to count for something. I have seen them struggle and persevere and use some of the lessons mom and I have tried to teach them and that has to count for something. I look at my grandchildren; Callie a young woman herself says, "BaBa, I love you." Her sister Jessie hugs my neck and kisses me, Desirae, our granddaughter who is deaf, signs and vocalizes "I uv ou baba" and that counts for so much. My grandson Julian, his shy smile at me and head and shoulders taller than me nearly breaks me in two, Levi and I glue models together and he says, "You're pretty good " . . that all has to count for something and it does. The youngest, little Wyatt can't speak yet at only four months old, but when I speak he smiles and no sunrise has ever warmed me more than his smiles of recognition do, and now, I say, "Give me a kiss" and he turns and pushes his little lips against my cheek and I tell you, that makes-up for all the years of heartache and disappointment it took to get me to see what really matters in life. I am so glad I didn't burn out like Janis and Jimmy. I wouldn't trade all the fame or all the gold records in the world if it meant any of these loved ones not knowing who I was or how much I love them.

I am In The People Business

2010-10-31T19:19:00.001-07:00

Whatever you do; do to the glory of God – Whatever you do; do to the Glory of God. How do we best fulfill this command? We must realize that however we treat the people around us is how we are treating God; however we are treating them, mistreating them, loving them or not; we can say we love God, but if we do not love our brother, than the truth is not in us.

Let me tell you just in case you have forgotten or just in case you have never been told; we are all in the people business or should be, at home or at work, wherever we might be.

I am not in the funeral business; I am in the people business. I am not in the process business or the program business or in anything other than the People business.

Whoever you are, whatever you do; if you sell shoes, you are not in the shoe business; if you are an attorney, you’re not in law, if you are an entertainer, you are not in show business; you are in the people business.

The moment you become about what you do and not who you do it for you lose your soul, perhaps not literally, but you certainly eliminate any higher purpose of doing whatever it is you do.

There are thousands in the business of stacking dollars in their bank accounts, accumulating possessions which they will ultimately abandon when they leave this life; others waste years to earn a nameplate on a desk or on a door that will only remain as long as they do.

But you; if you want to add any eternal value to what you do; if you desire your life to live beyond your own existence, than you must invest yourself in people. Whatever you do; make certain you are in the people business and it is certain that what you do will also bring glory to God.

For Debbie Holbrook and My Wife - Covenant Woman - Bob Dylan

2010-10-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

Covenant woman got a contract with the Lord

Way up yonder, great will be her reward.
Covenant woman, shining like a morning star,
I know I can trust you to stay where you are.

And I just got to tell you
I do intend
To stay closer than any friend.
I just got to thank you
Once again

For making your prayers known
Unto heaven for me
And to you, always, so grateful
I will forever be.

I've been broken, shattered like an empty cup.
I'm just waiting on the Lord to rebuild and fill me up
And I know He will do it 'cause He's faithful and He's true,
He must have loved me so much to send me someone as fine as you.

And I just got to tell you
I do intend
To stay closer than any friend.
I just got to thank you

Once again
For making your prayers known
Unto heaven for me
And to you, always, so grateful
I will forever be.

Covenant woman, intimate little girl
Who knows those most secret things of me that are hidden from the world.
You know we are strangers in a land we're passing through.
I'll always be right by your side, I've got a covenant too.

And I just got to tell you
I do intend
To stay closer than any friend.
I just got to thank you
Once again

For making your prayers known
Unto heaven for me
And to you, always, so grateful
I will forever be.

Some thoughts - reassurances

2010-10-02T08:16:00.000-07:00

Spiritual understanding comes to each of us in strange ways. As we wander and grow, God speaks to us and teaches us and enlightens us. What we once would have considered heresy may now bring us unspeakable joy and undeniable comfort. Our “world-view” of the Kingdom of God is so enlarged that none are denied the possibility of salvation and certainly none are separated from the love of God regardless of their own personal imperfections.

To the religious such talk sounds threatening and spiritually naïve, however to the man or woman listening for the whisper of God, the once-embraced claims of spiritual perfection obtained on this earthly plain screams of intellectual dishonesty and religious manipulation.

What if God’s ways are indeed higher than our own? What if, it is true that He looks at the heart, while we can only know the exterior of a man? Is it then not possible that some whom we would never expect to see in Heaven are already there before us? Is it also not possible that some of the religious folks who have so carefully walked to follow religious rule, but with impure hearts will hear, “Depart from me, I never knew you”? We know by God’s word it is true; the thief on the cross made it into the Kingdom of God before any of the disciples whom had forsaken all to follow Christ. Indeed the thief could be considered the 12th apostle, who took Judas’ place at God’s banquet table.

Who is to say that God’s forgiveness doesn’t extend further into lives that we reject? What if a man is truly spiritual, but somehow remains enslaved to an addiction, is that possible? The religious man shouts “no!” But did Jesus not say to the religious leader s of his day that some drunks and some prostitutes would see the Kingdom God before them? The assumption has always been that they would most certainly need stop their destructive behavior before being worthy of the Kingdom, but we speak in terms of spiritual warfare; in war there are prisoners of war and there are those who are missing in action. While many MIAs are dead, some are found alive and when they are found they are no fewer patriots than the comrade who has already returned home safely. When a man is being tortured and kept caged, he is no less loyalist to his country than the man back home walking his dog in the park. Could it be believers who have been abused by church leaders and the religion of Christianity are seen by God as being missing in action? While they may no longer attend religious services their hearts still long for the presence of God?

I have personally seen such a man, he had for years been a pastor’s “best friend” and head Elder. For years he and his family shared life with the Pastor and his household. Holidays were spent together, vacations shared of course every church function and celebration, every triumph and heartache the two men stood side by side, closer than most natural brothers. The little church grew from handful of faithful to a thriving congregation of several hundred. The elder continued to serve as faithfully as ever, but the pastor’s heart began to focus upon “His Ministry”, the prospect of national recognition, radio, television and a huge building program. The pastor's focus became more and more inward, while the outreach that had driven the growth of the church and attracted so many died away.

The Elders of the church became alarmed and tried to caution the pastor, but he not only rejected their counsel, he became paranoid and suspicious. Old friendships were broken; lives long intertwined were torn asunder by the Pastor's greed and hunger for everything the enemy offered Christ in the desert. The men were called disloyal and traitorous and worse. They were accosted verbally and publically until all the elders including the chief elder, the pastor’s “best friend” was all forced to resign. In the years that followed, not only did the pastor refuse to communicate in any manner with any of these men, not even his former “best friend”, but he forbid anyone in the church to communicate with them in any manner as well. Most of those men never walked through the doors of another church. The chief elder who had served so diligently day and night, loved the pastor as his brother, raised their children together, shared holidays and vacations, never stepped foot again in church.

And yet, on his deathbed, though unconscious he talked aloud to the Lord. I stood at his bed side on his final day; he hadn’t spoken in days at this point. Suddenly, he startled his wife and I and one of the other Elders who were there; he cried out in a loud clear voice, “Hey, wait!” He raised one hand toward the ceiling, eyes closed, smiling, he pointed to an unseen friend, someone he knew well and though lying on the bed, began “walking." HE raised one foot, then the other off the bed, stepping and following and in just a little time was gone from this world. There was no doubt who he was following and though he had never stepped a foot back into church this side of Glory, even though he was MIA, if you will; missing in action, there is no doubt he walked into Heaven. We witnessed it. The Elder’s former “best friend” didn’t attend the funeral, didn’t call, nor did he send a note or flowers.

In the same way I have come to believe that there are prisoners of war; men and women who have been redeemed, tasted the salvation of God, love Jesus and yet do not fully taste the promised abundant life of Christ. They find salvation, and while Christ offers them complete freedom, they are for whatever reason prisoners within themselves. While their liberty is available, they become prisoners of war. It is so easy to cast judgment upon these believers, but to criticize them is to ridicule the skill and resolve of the man who is captured by the enemy. “If he were a good soldier” we say, “He wouldn’t have been taken prisoner!” Does becoming a prisoner of war make you less of a soldier or a patriot; does, for whatever reason, not finding your deliverance through a lifetime of struggling make you less sincere in your love for God than the person who has never faced the battle of addiction?

Is God’s grace insufficient to overcome our weaknesses? Is His mercy limited by our understanding or is it HE who measures the man by the integrity of his heart? God evaluates King David as a man with a heart after God and yet by the actions of David, we no doubt, would judge him unfit to come to our churches, let alone serve again in ministry.

Qualification Team; “what are your qualifications for serving in our church?”

DAVID; “Well, I was the youngest in my family – so I guess I don’t have the leadership skills of a first-born. I was a shepherd by trade – not really on par with the religious training of the Scribes and Pharisees. I do play some instruments, Saul likes my playing, but I was never good enough to play in Temple. I killed a man, a really big man – a giant in fact and he was an enemy of Israel. I did become a King of Israel and a valiant warrior.

Qualification Team: We have heard that you are adept at killing.

DAVID: Well, I suppose you could say that, a lion, bear, tens of thousands on the battlefield….

Qualification Team: How about Uriah? What is the story behind your newest wife? We’ve heard some talk.

DAVID: “Well, yeah – Uriah; uh, Bathsheba. Well, I do have several wives, but to be honest, I was a little negligent one day; I should have been out leading the troops in battle . . .

QUALIFICATION TEAM; But you weren’t, where were you? What were you doing?

DAVID: I was at home, out on the roof and I saw this woman bathing . . .

QUALIFICATION TEAM; Uriah’s Wife. .

DAVID: Yes, but I didn’t realize that at the time, I just saw this really beautiful naked woman. I knew I had to have her and being King gave me the authority to have her brought to me and so I did.

QUALIFICATION TEAM: And did you uphold the Word of God or did you sin?

DAVID: Look, I’ve already told all this to Nathan . .

Qualification Team; if you are looking to work in this church, we need to know

David: I prefer to say that I made love to Bathsheba. She is like my soul mate

QT We would say you committed adultery and fornication, it all began with you coveting what wasn’t yours, another man’s wife,

DAVID: “But remember at the time I didn’t even know she was married

QT seems to us there was some lying and manipulation and sexual impurity and how did this all end?

DAVID; Bathsheba and I got married and made things right
QT But Bathsheba was already married to Uriah, what happened to Uriah?

DAVID: Uriah died in battle, ok, I placed Uriah on the front line where I knew he would get killed and being a loyal soldier to me, he did what I asked of him and indeed he was killed”

QT; So in fact, in order to have Bathsheba for yourself, you had her husband killed

Would you hire such a man for your church? Would you and your wife fellowship with such a believer? We only see the outward results of the sin that branded David’s life and yet God sees his heart and proclaims it to be knitted to His own.

My father struggled throughout his life with the bottle. He was, what most would call a functioning alcoholic. He grew-up with a Christian mother and an unbelieving father. Through the years I saw my father delight in God and at other times struggle with the booze which branded his life and yet, even though he died with a high level of alcohol in his blood, I have always been assured in my Spirit that he is with Our Father in Heaven. Again and again, God has reassured me that while my father was in fact a prisoner of war, he was in the end still a child of God whom was ushered into His Kingdom. Some, no doubt would say such reassurances are merely the hope born of love of a son for his father, or it could be said instead that such assurance comes from the abundant love of the Father, which covers a multitude of sin.

Last night God gave me another such assurance; I dreamed I was organizing a night of worship. I was surrounded by various worship musicians and singers and we were going to have an unscripted time of praise. The aforementioned pastor who turned his back on his elders tried to get into the room but was denied entrance.

As I was standing with a group of singers warming-up an arm reached around my right side from behind as I turned toward it, a large left fist was playfully pushed into my belly like a mock punch. It was my father slowly sneaking up behind me and smiling all the way. “Bet you didn’t expect to see me here, did you?” He asked with a smile. “I don’t suppose so” I said. In truth, I was at first startled, then overjoyed to see him. I had long ago forgotten that my father used to do this gesture of sneaking up behind me and giving me a belly punch as a way of playing with me. So not only was this dream a reassurance of my father’s security in God, but also a reminder of something personal that I had long ago forgotten and that as we worship before the Father we are always joined by an unseen host of our loved ones who have gone on before.

It has been said and is eternally true; we will find in Heaven, many we would never expect to see there and many will be missing whom we thought would be. Truly only God decides who abides within His Kingdom.

Be a boss people want to follow

2010-09-30T03:41:00.000-07:00

I've been working to develop a seminar for church management, found these tips, we can all use, even in everyday relationships (just substitute co-worker or friend in place of workers);

"Protect, back up and defend your workers."

"Listen twice as much as you speak."

"Do not always seek to find bad behavior to punish, but also seek good behavior to reward."

"Promote within."

"Encourage a work environment that is conducive to success."

"Allow for failure." -- Michael Coritsidis

Most people do not understand the value of allowing for failue. The Olympian becomes great having tried and failed thousands of times; if we say there is no room for failure, then there is no room for improvement and we must settle for mediocre at best.John Maxwell teaches a principal of falling forward. If we are going to fall (and we all are) then we should fall attempting to reach a goal; it is better to fail reaching high than to fail by refusing to reach. You've heard it said, no doubt that the greatest homerun hitters in history are also the same men who have struckout the greatest number of times. We may maintain, but we can never exceed until we are willing to fail in the process. Human Acheivement is rapt with examples of how perserverance rewards those who are not afraid to fail, even repeatedly in order to achieve what has never before been achieved. In order to have exceptional success whether in relationship or business, we must allow the other guy room to grow, which in the short run is room to fail.

PUT ON CHRIST

2010-09-21T03:52:00.000-07:00

________________________________________

ROMANS 13:13-14 “BECAUSE WE BELONG TO THE DAY, WE MUST LIVE DECENT LIVES FOR ALL TO SEE. DON’T PARTICIPATE IN THE DARKNESS OF WILD PARTIES AND DRUNKENESS, OR IN SEXUAL PROMISCUITY AND IMMORAL LIVING, OR IN QUARRELING AND JEALOUSY. INSTEAD, CLOTHE YOURSELF WITH THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. AND DON’T LET YOURSELF THINK ABOUT WAYS TO INDULGE YOUR EVIL DESIRES.”

We live in a darkened age where temptation abounds. Like the waves of the ocean, which encompasses land on every side, wave after wave of temptation beats against the shores of our lives, erodes the shoreline of our moral selves, while wild parties, drunkenness, sexual promiscuity and immoral living, quarreling and jealousy are the norm, all fragments which comprise the darkness which rolls in like fog upon us, we are called to be the Light, even as He, Christ Jesus is the Light. Jesus said, “YOU now are the light of the world”.

The command is clear; because you are the day, do not participate in such darkened living, rather, CLOTHE YOURSELF WITH THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. AND DON’T LET YOURSELF THINK ABOUT WAYS TO INDULGE YOUR EVIL DESIRES.”

Notice the Apostle does not say that you will not have evil desires; too many Christians want to believe they are beyond the temptations of sin and while they may not indulge in drunkenness or sexual immorality or sexual promiscuity they love to quarrel and indulge in petty jealousies. They take pleasure in causing controversies and delving into drama; confusion hangs on them like a cloak, wherever they go there is disruption and debate.

There is instruction though; “CLOTHE YOURSELF WITH THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. AND DON’T LET YOURSELF THINK ABOUT WAYS TO INDULGE YOUR EVIL DESIRES.” The old hymn says, “Take Time To Be Holy”; daily take the time to enter into your prayer closet and put on the presence of Christ. Before you step out into the darkened world, you must put on your armor of light. Allow yourself to be covered with the protection of Christ from your feet firm on the truth of the Word of God to the helmet which protects your mind from devising or surrendering to evil thinking; devising ways to satisfy your evil desires.

TODAY; “BECAUSE WE BELONG TO THE DAY, WE MUST LIVE DECENT LIVES FOR ALL TO SEE. DON’T PARTICIPATE IN THE DARKNESS OF WILD PARTIES AND DRUNKENESS, OR IN SEXUAL PROMISCUITY AND IMMORAL LIVING, OR IN QUARRELING AND JEALOUSY. INSTEAD, CLOTHE YOURSELF WITH THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. AND DON’T LET YOURSELF THINK ABOUT WAYS TO INDULGE YOUR EVIL DESIRES.” AMEN.

Freedom Isn't Free

2010-08-07T18:56:00.000-07:00

Well should then, we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we became Christians and were baptized to become one with Christ Jesus, we died with him? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised as he was. Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also share his new life. We are sure of this because Christ rose from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. He died once to defeat sin, and now he lives for the glory of God. So you should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to its lustful desires. Romans 6:1-12

The problem with freedom is that it is never free. True freedom comes at the cost of life by the shedding of blood. When the price for our freedom is paid by others we can often mistake our liberty as a license to abuse the freedom. We forget the high cost by which our freedom comes. While we have liberty from the law, such liberty does not dictate that we are free to do whatever we desire. However, such misunderstanding has plagued man from his creation. Adam was given the perfect environment, the perfect promise of eternal life, the perfect Father and only one commandment.

Oddly enough man is usually separated from God by the one thing they are unwilling to surrender to the Lordship of Christ; one man wanted to bury his father, another could not surrender his wealth, yet another wanted the assurance of where disciple might lead before he would follow Christ. You and I never fall by the abundance of sins, which will not let us go; we each fall by the one sin of which we will not let go.

As God’s children, the price for our freedom has been paid; our refusal to abandon that which separates us from our God and robs us of our potential in God is indeed sin. The wages of sin is death; this eternal cancer threatens, not only us, but threatens those for whom we are also responsible; Eve’s deception becomes Adam’s sin, the penalty for each is the same.

The Apostle closes this passage with a command; only one command, but is it too much for us to consider? “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to its lustful desires.” It is just one command, but is it too much for you and I to consider in order finding our way back to God? Let us pray. Amen!

2010-08-05T05:26:00.000-07:00

Are You Ready For Christian Community?

“AND THEY, CONTINUING DAILY WITH ONE ACCORD IN THE TEMPLE, AND BREAKING BREAD FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE, DID EAT THEIR MEAT WITH GLADNESS AND SINGLENESS OF HEART,” ACTS 2:46

There is good reason that most of the church is not modeled after the early church; it is easier to practice religion than it is to live together in Christian Community.

Within what I call the Traditional Church Model, I may need to be able to tolerate you once to three times a week, if we are both active in our church. Our relationship can remain superficial, perhaps as superficial as the occasional “hello” or “goodbye”. If the church is large enough I can avoid you altogether if I am upset with you.
In an organic church modeled after the first church we must not merely tolerate one another, but we must love one another in spite of our differences until we come into the Unity of The Faith, where the purpose of Christ is more important than our petty differences and disagreements. Note the emphasis of the above passage; “AND THEY, CONTINUING DAILY WITH ONE ACCORD” - DID EAT THEIR MEAT WITH GLADNESS AND SINGLENESS OF HEART,” In the Temple where they ministered together and from house to house where they lived, they came together “DAILY WITH ONE ACCORD, WITH GLADNESS AND SINGLENESS OF HEART”
It is easy to say, “Let’s be like the first church and eat meals together” But what set the first church apart was that their shared life was born out of the community of the church, not the other way around. They came together because they shared life, they didn’t share life and because they came together.
The real key to unity is not how well do you get along. The real key to experiencing family unity is how well do you handle it when you DO NOT Get Along? Do you run? Do you hide? MUST you be right? What if you aren’t? Must everyone agree with you? How do you handle it when they don’t? Unity is not born out of mutual agreement. Community is born out of the unconditional love we share with one another in spite of our disagreements.
“CONTINUING DAILY” implies continued effort – daily striving and working. For what end; to be right? No! To come together in “ONE ACCORD”, to be able to live and love those who hurt you, mistreat you and misunderstand you. To allow love to cover a multitude of sin, so that God family can live with a “SINGLENESS OF HEART”.
ARE YOU READY FOR CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY? I doubt it. How do we prepare ourselves? Jesus told His Disciples to go into the upper room and wait until the Holy Spirit had come upon them. And so they waited and prayed and waited and prayed and waited and prayed and in Acts 2:1 we see the result; “AND WHEN THE DAY OF PENTECOST WAS FULLY COME, THEY WERE ALL WITH ONE ACCORD IN ONE PLACE.” He doesn’t say go or be alone; He says come together and allow me to knit your hearts and your lives together into one Body with One Heart and One Mind with One Purpose. Amen!

2010-08-04T04:39:00.000-07:00

“AND EVEN WHEN YOU DO ASK, YOU DON’T GET IT BECAUSE YOUR WHOLE MOTIVE IS WRONG - - YOU WANT ONLY WHAT WILL GIVE YOU PLEASURE.” JAMES 4:3

We’re all familiar with the preceding verse; we quote it all the time. The truth is we misquote the last few words of it, we say, Jesus said “YOU HAVE NOT BECAUSE YOU ASK NOT”! The implication being that if we want something all we need to do is ask, but this is NOT what Jesus was saying. In fact the point He was making was not about how to get what we want from God; His message was that our hearts are wrong in their lusting for what we do not have.

Within context what Jesus said was, “YOU WANT WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE, SO YOU SCEME AND KILL TO GET IT. YOU ARE JEALOUS FOR WHAT OTHERS HAVE; YOU CAN’T POSESS IT, SO YOU FIGHT AND QUARREL TO TAKE IT AWAY FROM THEM. AND YET THE REASON YOU DON’T HAVE WHAT YOU WANT IS THAT YOU DON’T ASK GOD FOR IT. AND EVEN WHEN YOU DO ASK, YOU DON’T GET IT BECAUSE YOUR WHOLE MOTIVE IS WRONG - - YOU WANT ONLY WHAT WILL GIVE YOU PLEASURE.”

It’s amazing to me that we can use the very conversation of Christ concerning our greed and lust to kindle fires of more greed and lust. I have long heard people pray, “God, give them the desires of their hearts!” The better prayer is, “God help us to desire what you desire for us.”

Too often our hearts are out of alignment with God’s. We ought to be praying align our hearts for then we will have no trouble asking for and receiving what God has for us.

In Gethsemane, Jesus had a choice; His will or the Father’s. The work of our salvation was actually decided in the Garden when Jesus prayed, “NEVERTHELESS, NOT MY WILL BUT THINE BE DONE”. Certainly, we can ask God for whatever our heart’s desire, but we often don’t for when we do; we ask outside of His will for us or we know better than to even ask. Remember as a kid wanting something, but knowing better than to ask your parents?
Are you needy or greedy? He wants to supply your needs, but a good Father never wants to feed his children’s greed. The good Father that He is, He takes pleasure in blessing us, but in His wisdom, He understands the difference between what we want, what we think we want and what is best for us. My 15, soon to be 16 year old may want a high powered, high performance car, but there is not a 16 year old who would not be in danger of destroying himself with such a vehicle. God knows us better than we know ourselves and so He warns us, “Check your motives when you pray; is it for you or for the glory of God that you ask?” Lust is sin, regardless of what it is that we are lusting after.
Hear the words of Jesus in context with what He is saying, “YOU WANT WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE, SO YOU SCEME AND KILL TO GET IT. YOU ARE JEALOUS FOR WHAT OTHERS HAVE; YOU CAN’T POSESS IT, SO YOU FIGHT AND QUARREL TO TAKE IT AWAY FROM THEM. AND YET THE REASON YOU DON’T HAVE WHAT YOU WANT IS THAT YOU DON’T ASK GOD FOR IT. AND EVEN WHEN YOU DO ASK, YOU DON’T GET IT BECAUSE YOUR WHOLE MOTIVE IS WRONG - - YOU WANT ONLY WHAT WILL GIVE YOU PLEASURE.” AMEN!

FAITH IN WHOM?

2010-07-27T04:18:00.000-07:00

“SO THEN, FAITH COMES BY HEARING, AND HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD.” ROMANS 10:17

While at the recent Organic Church Conference, God opened this verse to me in a way I had never seen before; a favorite verse of Preachers who like to use it as a hammer of legalism, it is usually preached as a way to compel people to read their Bibles or to “faithfully” attend their local congregations (based upon whatever the local pastor determines “faithful” to be).

It is, in fact saying so much more; “SO THEN, FAITH COMES BY HEARING AND HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD”, This passage has so much more to do with “WHO” than it does with “WHAT”, it begs the question, “Who” is The Word of God?

Faith can only come through relationship with Jesus Christ. This verse is prefaced by the Apostle saying, “FOR WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED.” ROMANS 10:13 Paul was saying much more than we need to hear a lot of preaching. We can hear preaching our entire lives and yet experience true faith. We know by context that He was not saying you need to read your Bibles, because they didn’t yet have The Bible and yet how many times have we hear this verse preached that way?

No! “FAITH COMES BY HEARING AND HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD”; Jesus said over and over, “HE THAT HATH EARS TO HEAR, LET HIM HEAR.” MATTHEW 11:15 Frail man, cannot upon his own, see God or find God or know God; thus we have all the man-made religions that worship man-made gods, they are born of the feeble attempt of the carnal to experience the spiritual. However Jesus IS The Word of God and He is The Light; He expels our darkness that we might see God, Jesus is The Way, The Door, He said “NO MAN COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME.” Jesus is The Truth; We can only See, Hear and Know the Father in as much as we SEE, HEAR and KNOW The One who is The Truth; Jesus said, “HE THAT HAS SEEN ME HAS SEEN THE FATHER” JOHN 14:9 The Apostle Paul was saying so much more about knowing Jesus; being in relationship with Jesus, experiencing life in Jesus than he was enforcing religious dogma.

“SO THEN, FAITH COMES BY HEARING AND HEARING BY JESUS (who IS THE Word of God) ”; KNOWING HIM (not merely knowing about Him), EXPERIENCING HIM (having relationship as a brother and friend), living now and forever through Him for as Paul says, “FOR IN HIM WE LIVE, AND MOVE, AND HAVE OUR BEING” ACT 17:28 Not only is Christ the Word; He is also the “Preacher” of the Word, “SO THEN, FAITH COMES BY HEARING AND HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD” AMEN!

The Parson

2010-07-06T07:14:00.000-07:00

For many years, I have had a standing appointment with Brother John Brock at 6:00am at the local McDonalds. I have always said that we met to mentor one another; lest that sound like impossibility, consider Jesus said, “CONFESS YOUR SINS ONE TO ANOTHER”.

Dr. John has been there to support me and I have been there to support him as well, by support I mean encourage, comfort, chastise and rebuke. To talk, but more importantly to listen; to confess to one another our shortcomings in the ministry and life, to celebrate the many victories and to comfort one another through many abuses that go along with being in the ministry.

I have never had anyone so consistent in keeping their meetings with me, so much so that the one day John was not there and I didn’t hear anything I knew something was wrong and indeed the something turned out to be the heart attack that he had experienced and the subsequent trip into the hospital that prevented him from calling. Through winter blizzards, spring rains and summer heat, through triumphs and disasters we have met.

He drove the greater distance and even when his eyesight should have prevented him from driving, he was so determined, that we still met. On those days, his wife Patti would call me and say, “John is on his way. Will you let me know when he gets there?” As worried as she was about him at times, she never tried to prevent us from meeting, knowing how vital out time was together.

So now another season of my life has finished; John has taken a church in Northern Ohio, too far for us to meet weekly, but I am certain that our brotherhood which stretches back thirty years or so, will be kept intact, if not by our weekly face to face times of ministry. Tuesdays won’t be the same; life won’t be the same; ministry will never be the same without the love, correction and support we have both so dutifully shared together.

I have served with others more directly and for longer periods of time, but my heart has been knit to John’s in such a manner through these regular breakfasts that while I have not missed others at all, I miss him and he is not even gone yet.

As a going away present, I presented him with one of my favorite paintings that I have created called “THE PARSON: “Pastor” _________. (Name omitted to protect the guilty). The figure is that of a Pastor in his robes standing in front of a flawed stained-glass window. The colors are bright and vibrant, however while the preacher has a head, he has no eyes, ears or mouth. I inscribed on the back; this is Pastor _______, he has no eyes because he does not see, he has no ears because he does not hear; he has no mouth for he does NOT have a right to speak.” I told John, “Hang it where it can serve as a warning to you. Hang it where it reminds you of what NOT to be in the ministry. The man, who does not care to listen or to see the hurts of the lives around him, has not earned the right to speak into those lives.”

A calling is without repentance, however when the bureaucracy of the church, the buildings or programs or plans of the church; in short, when “Ministry” becomes more important the people of the church, you are no longer functioning as a Pastor – you have forsaken the ministry because people are your ministry. After all these years together, it’s the most importance advice I can send with my dear brother John. I will miss our times together, but John, you know I love you. Look at the picture of a man I knew and remember the man you are not to be. Amen!

I JESUS?

2010-06-24T05:12:00.000-07:00

I arrived at Starbuck’s at a quarter ‘till 6 this morning. Out in front of the store are people waiting to get in, not one or two but easily a dozen or more.

My first thought was some poor bedraggled youth worker had drug his entire youth group out for coffee after an all-night lock-in or something. Upon second look, these aren’t kids under blankets and on lawn chairs camped out in front of my destination, these are adults.

Not being use to needing to get in line for my early morning coffee and being a curious fellow, I ambled up to one of the men on the outer edge and asked, “What’s everyone doing here?” “The new I Phone 5 comes out today, were in line to get ours.

I will get-up at 5am to mentor and be mentored in the Lord. I will stay up all night at a hospital, if need be, but I CANNOT imagine that I would ever camp out all night in order to buy a telephone, “There are over 500 people over at The Apple Store” my informant volunteered. “You must be expecting some important phone calls” I answered, to which Johnny-at – the- end of- the- line just smiled.

What a deep recession we are in; when people will camp out all night for the opportunity to pay hundreds of dollars for a new cell phone! I was tempted to walk the line asking the people waiting there if they had any unpaid bills at home, but I decided there are better ways to die than by a mob in front of AT&T.

It really does make me wonder how addicted we are to convenience when the release of a new model phone is a reason to sleep on the sidewalk. I watched one young man as he was listening to his Ipod, working on his Mac Book and waiting in line to but the new I Phone 5 which will replace his I Phone 4 and pondered the possibilities for the next generation. Is such addiction to gadgets really progress?

Don’t get me wrong, I practically live on the computer and my Ipod is my favorite possession and my wife would argue that I could not live without either, but my phone is my phone and there are times I wish it just hung on the wall at home like the one I grew-up with. Times I wish I could turn-off the ringer and enjoy the evening with Tammy without interruption and be in the car without people being able to call me, and yet I never leave work without calling my wife on the way home and she seldom leaves home without us speaking to each other a couple times a day.
I guess as long as people have time to play with new gadgets, there will be new gadgets to play with, but I wonder; how many people would camp out all night to get into a church? How many would sleep on the sidewalk to spend time with a friend in need? How many would invest hundreds of dollars in ministry which has eternal implications, but no new apps? Just wondering. Amen!

2010-06-23T05:45:00.000-07:00

Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you], and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Matthew 5:11

The most intolerant of men are those who prop themselves up before God upon the thrones of their religious traditions. They see any who vary from them in form or direction as heretic or cultish. They never take into account that their form of worship would be suspect other than within their own communion.

Do not misunderstand me; I am not a Deist. I believe with all that is within me that there is One God, One son who is fully man and fully God; who came and died for our sins providing the only path for the salvation of men and One Holy Spirit who is the instrument of God’s guidance. I believe Jesus when He said, “I am the way, the truth and the light, no man comes to the Father except through me.” John 14

I am speaking of we who claim to know Christ as our only Savior who war against one another for traditions sake. They (we) ignorantly say, “You don’t do church like we do, your faith is no good!” Or you question long-held practices of Christian worship, you must be a cult!” or “You read your sermons or sing the wrong songs or don’t sing at all, you must not love God as we do!” And God, who is ever present and eternally compassionate toward all His children, weeps.

The mark of Christian maturity is tolerance for another’s differences, including how they choose to worship Christ, unconditional compassion, as we each learn to live as Christ and acceptance, as we all wait for the return of Christ.

Let us each one work our own salvation with fear and trembling as Scripture dictates and let us each consider one another above ourselves. Amen

Amen

Is Christian Community A Farce?

2010-06-16T04:11:00.000-07:00

Does true Christian Community exist? Is it even possible in this day and age? Is it possible in an age when few seem to value honesty or love or correction or sincerity? We love farce and entertainment and show, but we run from instruction,correction or discipline.

Is true Christian Community possible in an age when mothers refuse to tell their daughters, "No!" and fathers are more afraid of thier wive's disdain than their son's destruction and thus also refuse to say the wonderful word, "No" to thier off-spring?

Does anyone one love enough to give corection? Does anyone love enough to receive it? Without honest love we make Hell a closer reality for one another than Christian Community.

We ignore "Faithful are the wounds of a friend" and we surround ourselves with others who enable us in our disfunction, we embrace those who smile to our face and lie behind our backs., We fire pastors we disagree with, with no regard for their welfare or the future of their families. Years of service is forgotten or ignored while we gather to ourselves lying teachers so please our itching ears.
Is Christian Community even a possibility anymore? I sometimes wonder; God wants it, His Son died for it and the Holy Spirit desires to epose it, but He isn't going to force it upon us and I don't see many who desire it.

TEMPTATIONS

2010-06-07T04:59:00.001-07:00

This morning, I was reflecting upon the years I spent in a spiritually abusive church. I was trying to remember what held us there. Out of my mouth came a prophetic utterance that said it all.

There was a time that Tammy and I were given the opportunity to become Pastors of a wonderful church in a little town in northeast Ohio. I went to our pastor for guidance; his advice was, “You have so much talent, you don’t want to bury it up there where it will be isolated and hidden.” He followed that with the promise of full-time employment “just as soon as the church can swing it” and thus we decided to stay where we were.

As Tammy and I were talking, I said, “I promise you the Kingdom’s of the world”. Where we were, I was being seen on the Pastor’s TV show, the Church was on the verge of imploding, but we thought it was on the verge of exploding and the pastor I was under had a lot of connections and was widely known.

As the words slipped out of my mouth I was reminded of Jesus in the wilderness and I began to analyze the tricks the devil had used to keep me enslaved. The devil has NOTHING original; in this instance, the pastor was saying it would be a sin for my ministry to be hidden, what was the temptation of Jesus in Luke 4:5? “And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.” He said, “This will all be yours’” We stayed because this little church in a secluded burg could not offer our ministry the exposure that surely God wanted for us – how foolish!

Secondly, through the years another “tool” that was used was first the promise and then our dependence upon financial support from this church. I wanted to be “full-time in the ministry” so badly that promise after promise held us there and once we were put-on full-time, our dependence upon the support kept us there. What was the first temptation to Christ? Luke 4:2” Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.” The devil said, “here’s the stone, turn it into bread!” He used sustenance to tempt him, nothing new.

Finally, when all else failed and he was through with us and we had awakened spiritually to the abusiveness of the situation, the Pastor vowed to destroy me. If the enemy can’t woo you or when you awaken to his lies, he will seek to destroy you, but he can’t because you belong to God. Luke 4:9-11 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in [their] hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” Satan tempted Christ to kill himself, knowing that he couldn’t do it to him. This pastor tried to ruin my marriage, my reputation and although he sent us out with “his blessing”, later publicly vowed to destroy our ministry.

Tammy asked me a valid question this morning; she asked does any of that matter after all these years? And it does, only to warn others that the enemy will use even ministers and churches to abuse you. He will use “Ministry opportunities” to sidetrack you; he will fatten you up, just to dine off of you and when all else fails he will seek to destroy you. You needn’t fear, the enemy cannot defeat you; 1Jo 2:13, 14 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him [that is] from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him [that is] from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.” AMEN!

YOUR CHOICE

2010-06-04T05:20:00.001-07:00

Your choice is simple; how will you live TODAY? Will you live selfishly or selflessly? Will you live for yourself or will you live for others? Will you be self-focused or other-focused? Will you look inward or will you start the day with a new outlook?

If your thoughts are continually focused upon you; you are in danger. The person who does not think beyond themselves is carnal and apt to fall easily to temptation. If on the other hand you love God more than yourself and your neighbor more than yourself your thoughts will be higher than much of the temptation that is put in your way.
Every temptation that Satan tempted Jesus with in the wilderness was aimed at a selfish man; are you hungry? Are you spiritual? (You are so special to God you could even throw yourself off this building and He would have His angels catch you) Do you desire wealth, fame, all this world has to offer? Fortunately Jesus wasn't self-focused; He was focused on doing what His Father had called Him to do and to be whom He was created to be.
How about you? It really is very simple; it’s your choice.

WHAT IF . . . .

2010-06-03T03:55:00.000-07:00

What would happen if....this Sunday people went to church because they really desired to be there and not out of obligation? What if the Preacher confessed his sins to the congregation and encouraged them to do the same? What if the people in the congregation who are angry with each other and not speaking would go to each other and repent and ask forgiveness of one another (regardless of who started the argument or hard feelings)? What would happen if every person who ever left another church in anger returned and apologized to their former congregation and fellow congregants? What if every church leader refused to manipulate, control or coerce another single person? What if every board, committee and pastor would voluntarily surrender "their authority" and sought the priesthood of every believer? What if we dismissed our “service as usual" attitudes and dismissed the praise bands, put away the hymnals, turned-off the projectors, and threw away our sermons? What would happen if we removed all the chairs or pews and bowed together, waiting for the move of God? What would happen if we left our church buildings altogether and went out into our community to do community service of some kind? What do you suppose would happen if we refused to pass the collection plate and instructed people to give only as they could cheerfully give? What if believers everywhere would join together in Jesus' Name and do NOTHING but wait?

Would we call such an event church?

A Study of Two Lives

2010-05-28T05:41:00.000-07:00

I have spent the past few months reading the book JOHN ADAMS by David McCullough. It is an interesting history as much personal as public in to the life of a truly great patriot without whom we would have never become a nation.

The unexpected treasure of this volume is the unavoidable contrast between Mr. Adams and Thomas Jefferson. In my estimation, both men have their place in history; Adams as the ultimate Patriot son and Jefferson as the equal politician.

Men signed the Declaration of Independence, both men desired to create a free nation, throughout public life Jefferson often undermined the friendship and the cause of liberty by selfish ambition and Mr. Adams on occasion publicly called Mr. Jefferson to task for the inconsistencies between his stated beliefs and the life he personally led, but in later years both men expressed great admiration and forgiveness toward one another, both men lived long lives, died on the same day, within hours of one another; July 4th, on the Nations 50th Birthday.

Throughout his life Jefferson lived a life of contradictions; he authored the greatest decree of self-government ever put to paper and yet would have been happier had our little republic been more like France, where indeed he spent much of the early years of the Revolution as Ambassador for this nation, often doing little more than soaking-up the culture and bedding whom he might.

While Jefferson wrote “early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise’, he habit was to party late into the night and sleep in late into the day. The man wrote so eloquently and rightly wrote of “all men, being created equal”, until his dying day was dependant upon slaves to keep and build his ever-expanding Monticello.

During his lifetime, Jefferson freed only six of his slaves, ironically none of them included his concubine or the illegitimate children that her fathered by her. After his death the remaining slaves were auctioned-off on his front lawn.

In spite of coming from means, while Jefferson wrote, “Never a borrower or lender be” he remained heavily in debt his entire life and died over $100.000 in debt, more than everything he owned, including his homes and land were worth. Soon all that he had, including furnishings, personal effects and his beloved Monticello, which had fallen into disrepair were all sold far below their value in a feeble attempt to erase his debt.

Jefferson at times expressed great faith in the God of Heaven, at other times and as demonstrated by his life considered himself something other than a Christian; what the man truly believed is impossible to say. At the end of his life he expressed regret and wished he could live life over; Jefferson died a broken man and wrote his own epitaph, which he had put into stone and placed upon his grave, it reads;

Here Was Buried

THOMAS JEFFERSON

Author of the Declaration of American Independence,

Of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom,

And Father of the University of Virginia

Throughout his life Adams lived a life of Christian devotion and public service; he singed the greatest decree of self-government ever put to paper and fought for self-government of the people, by the people and for the people, although such sentiment wouldn’t be put into those eloquent words until generations later by another truly great President.

Adams served his country as Ambassador, but was not a stranger to loss or toil. He and his family sacrificed much for the ideals alive in his heart. When others including Jefferson might have quit the experiment of a free nation, it was the zeal and determination of John Adams that would not be compromised. The man worked tirelessly, spent years apart from his family and home in order to secure the future of a struggling colt of a nation.

The man not only believed as Jefferson did that slavery was wrong, he often fought Jefferson over the subject of slavery and indeed refused to keep slaves, believing with all his heart; “that all men are created equal.” Until his dying day Adams fought “the evil of slavery” at every turn.

Adams was not only a professed Christian man; he was a moral man whose life ever reflected his devotion to his God, family and nation.

Never a rich man, always worried about making ends meet, John Adams did not accumulate many material good during his lifetime, however when he died, his net worth was approximately $100,000. He left a hardy estate to his heirs.

He was buried modestly and his family refused a funeral held at public expense at the State House for they wanted no part of what could appear a “forcing” of public tributes; they instead heeded the expressed wishes of their father.

Adams always expressed great faith in the God of Heaven, in spite many, many personal tragedies. By the end of his life he had attained an ability to see God and His blessings in every situation. Once when a huge winter storm fell trees and buried New England in ice and snow, he looked across his battered homeland and rejoiced at the beauty of the crystals which he thought shone brighter than diamonds. He lauded the beauty of the white carpet which covers all the ugliness beneath. When questioned by Jefferson whether he would like to begin life again, Adams replied that he was quit content to leave this old world and ready to see the next.

Adams had an epithet written for his great-great grandfather; the first Mr. Adams who set foot upon American soil, but did not prepare anything to boast of his own attainments.

I sum-up the lesson of the life of John Adams with the eternal truth it is better to give than to receive. “Men who aspire to greatness must write their own epithets, posterity remembers sincere men who are truly great.” Gary Holman

2010-05-26T05:00:00.001-07:00

Mahalia Jackson used to sing a song, “JESUS MET THE WOMAN AT THE WELL”, II love the account that song gives of the meeting. Jesus meets her, not by accident; His intent is always to meet us when we are ready to listen, He begins conversation about something that was relevant to the woman; and then leads her into conversation toward something that was relevant to Him; her spiritual condition. The woman is converted and is soon telling everyone about Jesus.

During the course of this encounter, Jesus erects a sign for future generations to read; “JESUS ANSWERED AND SAID UNTO HER, WHOSOEVER DRINKETH OF THIS WATER SHALL THIRST AGAIN” Physically, He’s referring to the physical water in the well, spiritually, He is speaking of the pleasures of this earth which never satisfy.

What an important lesson is given for you and me. Jesus is saying, “You can drink this water and in time, you’re going to get thirsty again”. Have you noticed how the things of this world promise happiness and fulfillment, but always leave you thirsty for more? If a person is feeling sexually aroused and they seek out a partner purely for sexual fulfillment, it isn’t long before they are looking for another partner. If a person is sexually aroused and is drawn to pornography to satisfy their needs, are those needs satisfied or is the person’s desire further increased?

Who can eat just one Lay’s Potato Chip? Do you remember that ad? It is based upon the reality that if you like something, you will want more and more of that thing, which you desire.

I have known men and women who have looked for a mate or a spouse to “complete them”; in fact I have been that person, as has my wife. The truth is that no one except God can complete you.

It is terribly unfair to expect a mere mortal to accomplish something that is only available to you and God. Couples often say, “Make me Happy” to one another; just a proposition is IMPOSSIBLE. Happiness is a personal choice; I can choose to look on the sunny side of life or I can look for the negative.

Every piece of gold has a little dross in it. Imagine the foolishness of the miner who would throw away every piece of gold because he saw some impurities in it, and yet we do this all the time. We often abandon relationships because they are not perfect. Rather than submit that relationship to God’s furnace where such impurities are vanquished, we toss the gold aside and look for a better nugget. It’s hard work to allow God to purify us – something has to die.
Interestingly, the problem within the life of the woman at the well was her relationship with men. Jesus said, “YOU HAD SEVERAL HUSBANDS AND THE ONE YOU’RE LIVING WITH NOW IS NOT EVEN YOUR OWN!” Jesus was saying, “You’re trying to find Spiritual value through carnal relationships this will never work!” WHOSOEVER DRINKETH OF THIS WATER SHALL THIRST AGAIN”.
So what God-space within you are you trying to fill with fluff? Perhaps you are filling the God-void in your heart with “Church”; the traditions and meetings and programs and regulations. You have done it so long that you only attend out of obligation. On top of it all, you are told that you aren’t a good “Christian” because this fluff doesn’t satisfy you. Perhaps you are trying to fill the God-space with a different relationship; you may like skinny women or tall men or short fat men (someone needs to love us short fat men), however – if your desire is for that other person to make your life perfect, you will soon be out shopping for a skinnier or taller or shorter/fatter man (it could happen), you get the point.
Only drinking the eternal water from God’s well is going to satisfy the eternal thirst within you. Jesus goes on to say, “HE WHO DRINKS OF THIS WATER (GOD’S SPIRITUAL WATER) WILL NEVER THIRST AGAIN.” And that my friends, is what we are looking for. Amen!

YOU MAY BE ALONE; BUT YOU NEEDN'T BE LONELY

2010-05-25T06:33:00.000-07:00

You may be alone; but you needn’t be lonely.

We live with a massive society with thousands of people within miles of most of us at any given time and yet we live a life that is mostly separated, highly isolated. We wake, go to work, come home; such is life. Such lives are often lonely and while we are often alone, we needn’t ever be lonely.

“AND WHEN HE HAD SENT THE MULTITUDES AWAY, HE WENT UP INTO THE MOUNTAIN APART TO PRAY: AND WHEN THE EVENING WAS COME, HE WAS THERE ALONE.” MATTHEW 14:23 Jesus often intentionally separated Himself with the intent to be alone, but He was not lonely while in these seasons of isolation, because these seasons of isolation were also seasons of prayer. While He was apart from people He was in presence of His Heavenly Father, so He was not alone at all.

If you and I are to learn the value of being alone, we must first defeat the specter of loneliness. We can most easily do this by entering into a living relationship with our Creator God. The old hymn says, “AND HE WALKS WITH ME AND HE TALKS WITH ME AND HE TELLS ME I AM HIS OWN AND THE VOICE I HEAR FALLING ON MY EAR, NONE OTHER HAS EVER KNOWN.” Is the writer trying to indicate that God has never had conversation with any other person? No! He is saying though that his relationship to God is a personal one, where they fellowship together in such intimacy that he is never alone.

Secondly, you may be alone, but needn’t be lonely because there are others around you who have needs greater than your own. While Jesus was often alone, he was never lonely because He was constantly about His father’s business of caring for others; “AND JESUS WENT ABOUT ALL THE CITIES AND VILLAGES, TEACHING IN THEIR SYNAGOGUES, AND PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM, AND HEALING EVERY SICKNESS AND EVERY DISEASE AMONG THE PEOPLE. MATTHEW 9:35 Nothing keeps youth in our bones as does the practice of caring more about others than you do for yourself. Nothing makes us more aware of God’s mercy than seeing it poured out around us. I never minister that I do not get ministered to, whether that is my intent or not. If I need hope, I should become hope, if I need mercy, I should show mercy, if I am sick and I need healing, I should pray for the needs of others. Nothing heals or ministers or encourages us more than when we allow God to use us to become vessels of healing, ministers, and encouragers for others.

Finally, we who believe live only by to points of doctrine; “LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, SOUL AND MIND AND LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. If only we endeavor to love God and others more than ourselves, we may be alone, but we needn’t ever be lonely. For before we can love either God or man more, we, like John the Baptist must love ourselves less; with him we must say, “HE MUST INCREASE AND I MUST DECREASE”. If when we are alone we are focusing upon ourselves, we become lonely, if however we always keep God and others before ourselves we will seldom be lonely.

Father God, we have each one, suffered loss. We are each given repeated opportunities to become lonely, my pray is that our seasons alone may become seasons of prayer and times of worship to you through service for others. AMEN!

VISIT OUR WEBSITE; http://www.newhopecommunityfellowship.com N.H.C.F. Touching Hearts - Changing Lives

TAKE REFUGE

2010-05-24T04:34:00.001-07:00

“MAY THE LORD REPAY YOU FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE. MAY YOU BE RICHLY REWARDED BY THE LORD, GOD OF ISRAEL, UNDER WHOSE WINGS YOU HAVE COME TO TAKE REFUGE.” RUTH 2:12
Is there a better prayer to offer? I echo this sentiment of old for each of you who have come to trust Him. Some of you, being wearied by the politics of church, have stumbled away from Him and you feel empty and alone. The prize goes to the one who finishes the race; do not trip over a line drawn by man. Listen to the echo of His Word within your heart. Some of you have grown weary running due to others who stand between you and your God; like little Zacchaeus , you cannot see God because men are in your way. Climb, climb, whatever tree to whatever height you must in order to clearly see your Lord again. He is always much closer than you KNOW, climb if you must to see His face. Right now some of you are being battered by circumstances, why? Did God not know what is happening at this very moment would happen? Didn’t he know, before the foundation of the earth, that you would be in this circumstance? Yes, and so He promised, “I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR WILL I FORSAKE YOU!” However do not confuse your desires with God’s will; only when you can pray, “NEVERTHELESS, FATHER, NOT MY WILL BUT THINE BE DONE” are you apt to see His will blossom fully before you.

“TAKE REFUGE”, this word says. Refuge is being able to rest in safety, knowing God is in charge. Jesus took REFUGE in the bottom of the boat and was sleeping through the great storm when his disciples awakened Him due to their fears. They were in the storm, He was resting secure in His Father in spite of it. The Disciples were watching the clouds, the winds and the waves, Jesus was resting in confidence in God. He knew the storm was coming before the others ever began to experience the winds and so He is aware of what you are experiencing in your life; “TAKE REFUGE”.
God’s reward is so much grander than you expect. By our finite minds and trivial appetites we expect little, but what He holds for we who are faithful is beyond what we could ever expect or envision or hope for. So I will pray for you again, “MAY THE LORD REPAY YOU FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE. MAY YOU BE RICHLY REWARDED BY THE LORD, GOD OF ISRAEL, UNDER WHOSE WINGS YOU HAVE COME TO TAKE REFUGE.” AMEN!

What Am I Doing?

2010-04-30T05:32:00.001-07:00

I went to be at midnight, it's now 5:30 am and I am sitting in Starbucks on my day-off, what am I doing? Well, I am doing the only part of life that feels like ministry to me anymore; I am mentoring. I do this at least three days a week and I sure do hope it's making a difference in the lives of the men I meet. I know it makes a difference in mine. For nearly ten years I got up at 6am and wrote a daily devotion; thousands of essays written upon the Word of God. I don't know how they benefitted no one else, but they certainly built m faith and the absence of this discipline has weakened my faith (faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God). Life has been crowding out all but what is the most vital to my own existence as of late.

This is a strange time in which we live; an age of shattered relationships, non-commitment and individual asphyxiation; isolating ourselves to the point of suffocating the life out of our very beings. We live much of our lives based upon felt-needs, perceived “needs”; where we work, where we worship, how we live; many of us live to be entertained – What any I going to do today to have fun” we ask, rather than what ought we do today to prepare for tomorrow. We have become an id driven society of relaxation and rest rather than one of hard work and commerce. This explains the flippant way we discard relationships both inside and outside of the church. Our relationships as well as our worship experiences, as well as the rest of our lives are based upon “what will please me today?” rather than what do I need or what commitment have I made?

What we miss, in chasing our perceived needs, we neglect our real needs. In chasing after what we desire to do, we neglect the productive, life-giving things that we need to do. We recognize our innate need for community and relationship, but such endeavors require hard work and commitment and most of us with our pleasure mentality find it easier to continually shop around for the greener grass of every aspect of life rather than relax in the meadow where God has placed us. Jesus said, “HE WHO TRIES TO FIND HIS LIFE WILL LOSE IT, WHILE THOSE WHO ARE WILLING TO LOSE THEIR LIVES FOR MY SAKE WILL FIND IT.” The work of our salvation was finished on Calvary; the cost for our salvation was paid in Gethsemane, for it was there that Jesus made the hard commitment to do His Father’s will.

Ill you commit to doing the hard work of community and relationship or will you continue to look for the greener pastures which do not exist?

True and Undefiled Religion

2010-04-25T05:31:00.000-07:00

What is missing in the “Church” today? How about “true and undefiled religion”? While the word religion doesn’t sit well with me personally, this is the phrase that Jesus used and in this context it is right.

What is “true and undefiled religion” according to the Son of God? “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” JAMES 1:27

By Christ’s definition of what it means to be a Christian, how are you doing? According to these words, how is your Church doing? How is the universal church doing?

I am not asking if your church gives money to other ministries. Personally what are you and the other members of your congregation doing to fulfill these words of Christ? When is the last time you personally visited a widow or orphan? Broadening this bit when have you last time you made a home visit to care for ad pray with anyone who is sick r hurting or lonely?

May I boldly say that I believe most of the institutional church is failing miserably on all three counts? Let me stress that having a “Home Missions Ministry” or “Outreach Ministry” or “A Care Ministry” does NOT fulfill your personal or the churches corporate need for pure and genuine, or as KJB say it “a true and undefiled religion”.

The church knows how to organize services and dinners, we know how to host car washes and pot lucks; we have Sunday Morning, Sunday Night, Wednesday Night, and Special Worship Services, but we have forgotten what it means to “care one for another”. Unless someone organizes it and the church bus drives us there, we don’t do it.

Here I a challenge for you, ask yourself, “When was the last time I entered a home of someone in need in order to pray or care or love them? When is the last time, I personally spent time with someone in the hospital or nursing home? What would the impact be on this Nation if every Christian believer adopted a widow or orphan to care for? Hey are all around us, lonely, hurting people that we don’ have time for.

I have found that as I am busy doing God’s commands, I find myself less tempted by the world’s demands. The more I give myself, my time, my finances and my energy into the lives of hurting- others, I have less struggle with the temptations of the world. I have also discovered as I give more of myself in Jesus name, the more others are drawn to Him.

Rather than plan another day of fun for yourself or your children, why not find an opportunity to serve someone who doesn’t have the family blessings that you do have?

“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” AMEN!

HOW HAVE YOU TREATED JESUS THIS WEEK?

2010-03-30T06:59:00.001-07:00

How have you treated Jesus this week? Have you reverenced Him? Have you even spoken to Him? Have you been so busy that you have refused to spend any time with Him? How have you treated Jesus this week?
I don’t suppose you have been so foolish as to think that you could think or say negative or even nasty things concerning Him without Him knowing, have you? Are you ever disappointed in Jesus? Have you ever felt that He has let you down? Have you been angry with Him? Have you dare spoken that or have you silently held your anger inside until it boiled and solidified into resentment or even hatred?
Have you told Him that you love Him? Would you tell Him if you didn’t? Have you invited Him to come with you wherever you go or are there times and places where you’d rather Him not go with you? Are there friends He might embarrass you around?

Again, allow me to ask you; how have YOU treated Jesus this week? Before you answer, allow me to ask you another question; how have you treated your Preacher, your teacher, your parent, your boss at work or that bully at school? How have you treated that person you despise the most? How have you treated the one who has used you, abused you, abandoned you, stole from you, cheated on you?
Friend, your answer to the second set of questions answer the initial set; how you have treated the people in your life you consider the least; your egotistical preacher, unfair teacher, your lousy parent, your overbearing boss at work, the bully who frightens you; your worst enemy, the person you despise the most, the way you have treated them is how you have treated Jesus; who died for your sins. The way you have you treated the one who has used you, abused you, abandoned you, stole from you, or cheated on you is the way you have treated Jesus who would never do any of those things to you, for Christ has said, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. MATTHEW 25:40

WOULDN'T IT BE NICE?

2010-03-24T04:54:00.001-07:00

As the old Beach Boy's song says, "WOULDN'T IT BE NICE?" Wouldn't it be nice if every day was sunny and only cooling breezes blew? Wouldn't it be nice if we had everything we wanted and never had to want again? Wouldn't it be nice if we were all wonderfully beautiful with perfect faces and desirable bodies and perfect personalities? Wouldn't it be nice if there were never any disappointments, no let-downs, no betrayals or misunderstandings; if everybody always did what was right at the right time and never lied and were totally honest? Wouldn't it be nice if, as the old saying goes "everyday would be Christmas all-year long?" WOULDN'T IT BE NICE?
NO! It would be boring and bland and we would soon forget our need for Father God. Adam and Eve had the perfect Father; the perfect environment, no work, only pleasure; they were beautiful in the perfect beautiful world and then that little gift from God; free-will got in the way. They didn't realize the garden they had been given until they had been cast from it. As they say, "You never know what you have until you lose it!" It's so true. They had the perfect environment and perfect situation for perfect communion with God and they didn't take advantage of it, and neither would we.
Life is messy, but it is in the messiness that we understand our need for something greater than ourselves. In our weakness He is made strong. It is our trials through which we strive and learn. What more can a man desire if has everything?
Doesn't loving one another in spite of our imperfections prove something of a deeper love? Isn't unconditional love the character of God? Heaven will be perfect, but we live there eternally will also be perfected. Heaven is the place for perfection; here on earth, we need God and we need one another and we come closest to both as we pass through the valleys and the storms. Amen!

Listen

2010-03-08T05:19:00.001-08:00

THEN JESUS SAID, “HE WHO HAS EARS, LET HIM HEAR.”

MARK 4:9

In my long experience of this adventure called life, I have found a certain truth; those who most need to hear the truth are unable or most likely unwilling to listen.

Character flaws which glare like neon upon their lives to others remain hidden and unaddressed by those possessing them. Loving friends who do their best to illuminate these flaws are either ignored or shunned or dismissed. Friendship crumble, relationships ruin, beautiful, fulfilling interactions rot like fresh-caught fish left out in the summer sun for too long.

Jesus knew this ignorant side of man. He knew every time that He spoke a few would respond, but most would not. And so often before He was about to handout a potential life-changing truth, He would preface it by saying, “HE WHO HAS EARS, LET HIM HEAR.” This curious oft-used phrase was Christ’s way of saying, “Most of you who need to hear this won’t; you will hear, but you will not listen” or “You will listen but you will not follow through, knowing the cost of discipleship is the submission of your own desires and will.

I have toyed with the idea of hosting a seminar of corporate management. I know many pastors and small business leaders who would benefit from a weekend of examination of their treatment of their employees. The problem is that to the person, not one of those employers would be willing to attend such a weekend even if it were cost them nothing more than their time. Why? Because they are quite content to do business as they always have, even though they struggle with employee and customer loyalty. They just don’t have the ears to hear.

Within the institutional church the problem is much the same; congregants gather hoping to hear truths that might change their lives, but weekly reject those truths for life as usual; we desire intimacy and community, but we shun it out of fear of venerability, which is little more than acknowledging our own personal need to change and grow. One of my favorite personal quotes was from a poignant popular song of years gone by, it goes, “THERE ARE NONE WHO ARE SO BLIND AS THOSE WHO WILL NOT SEE”.

What is God trying to say to you today? The very thought that makes your heart pulse and your palms swear; the very thing you need to say or to do or to change is as simple as facing the fear and doing what you know you ought.

This message is for you; “HE WHO HAS EARS, LET HIM HEAR.” AMEN!

The Treasure of Friendship

2010-02-17T05:10:00.000-08:00

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy. Proverbs 27:6

Friends are like bananas, when they come in bunches, they quickly go bad. Like “love”; friend is a word that is overused. True friends don’t come in bunches, in fact if you find one or two sincere friends in this life you are entirely blessed.

As a young man I wore my heart on my sleeve and “fell in love” with nearly every girl I ever had any kind of a relationship with. I was usually certain by the second date that we would eventually be married. This behavior started long before I was in school and continued until I found my true love in my wife.

As a man, I have made the same fatal error with acquaintances. I always assume that each acquaintance is going to be my sincere friend for life; that our friendship is unconditional and a sacred trust. I have spent most of my adult life being repeatedly hurt by people whom I have cared about more than they care about me.

An honest friend speaks the truth in love to you; an honest friend doesn’t tell you how wonderful you are, when you’re not, but an honest friend is equally committed to being a part of your life for the remainder of their lives. A sincere friend, like a sincere love, cares for you even when they don’t care for how you are being. What a rare gift it is to find people who will allow you to invest in their lives and in return are willing to invest in yours.

We would all do well to remember the words of Jesus, “ Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.” Luke 6:26

Empty kisses leave behind broken hearts. When I think of my friends, my sincere friends; the ones who go back years and years, I don’t think of their kind words or their flattery or their praise; what I know, even when we don’t see one another for months or years is that when we do, we pick-up right where we left off. In as much as NOTHING can separate us from the Love of God, there is Nothing that destroys a real friendship.

Just as the desire for love may leave you with a broken heart, the desire for sincere friendship will do the same, but in both cases, the treasure you find is worth all the pain endured in seeking.

DO YOU WANT TO LOOK CLEAN OR BE CLEAN?

2010-02-16T06:36:00.000-08:00

DO YOU WANT TO LOOK CLEAN OR BE CLEAN?

As I was preparing my oats this morning I dropped a few on the kitchen floor. As I was picking up each tiny piece I questioned myself; “Why are you picking-up each oat fragment?” “So that there is nothing left to attract bugs or mice; to be clean”. As an after thought I added, “And I wouldn’t want anyone to come in and see oats spilled on the floor”.

I then thought of the TV program “Hoaders”. Hoaders is a show about people who fill their houses to overflowing with “stuff” and trash, often until the house is no longer fit to be lived in. The question often arises, “How did the house get like this?” The reply is always the same; “It wasn’t always like this, it just started out little and got worse and worse as time went on.”

Another common thread is that the people who live in these houses do not allow the “outside world” into their home in order to continue to prevent others from knowing how they actually live.

Seems to me that the same can be said and is a fair description of sin; “It wasn’t always like this, it just started out little and got worse and worse as time went on.” It is also true that most of us have been taught to hide our “dirt” rather than addressing it before it consumes our lives.

The hoarders are missing something within them that encourages them to be clean and yet they know enough to want to look clean.

Like the hoarders the institutional church and many ‘believers” seem to be much more concerned about looking clean than actually being clean; Mr. Brown may be cheating on his wife, but as long as Mr. Brown the Attorney is faithful in his attendance and his giving, Mr. Brown; the sinner is unlikely to be confronted by Mr. Brown’s pastor. Mrs. Sims may be agoraphobic and lonely, but unless Mrs. Sims somehow comes to us, we aren’t going to bother going to her. John Jones may look disheveled and may be vocal about his temptations and weaknesses; well, a lot of churches will wish him well in his efforts to find another church to worship in, while telling themselves, “He really just doesn’t fit in with us”.

Jesus said, "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs--beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity.”
So the question for us all to consider; do we address the dirt in our lives in order to be clean and free from the disease of sin or do we keep others pushed out of our real lives so that we will continue to appear clean? Think about it.

For My Valentine

2010-02-12T16:39:00.000-08:00

The Man In Me by Bob Dylan

The man in me will do nearly any task,

And as for compensation, there's little he would ask.

Take a woman like you

To get through to the man in me.

Storm clouds are raging all around my door,

I think to myself I might not take it any more.

Take a woman like your kind

To find the man in me.

But, oh, what a wonderful feeling

Just to know that you are near,

Sets my a heart a-reeling

From my toes up to my ears.

The man in me will hide sometimes to keep from bein' seen,

But that's just because he doesn't want to turn into some machine.

Took a woman like you

To get through to the man in me.

THANK YOU LORD!

2010-01-26T05:18:00.001-08:00

On our drive to Charydin's wedding rehearsal I had a bad feeling that Sierah was in trouble, in fact I felt God say there was an impending accident; I stopped and immediatley prayed protection upon her and Callie (my granddaughter who was riding with her).The feeling of dread lessened, but didn't leave.

Within minutes of arriving at the rehearsal hall Sierah called me; I could hear the fear in her voice, "Dad I'n in an accident..." A few months ago a two year old boy that Tammy and Sierah knew from the day care had been killed in that same intersection.

Yesterday the State Patrol confirmed that there is a bad blind spot there, but his next words confirmed what I realized when I saw her totalled car, "You know, if the other driver had hit you six inches further back on your car, you wouldn't be here for me to talk to right now!" Sierah is a good, cautious driver, but she came within six inches and a micro-second of being killed.

We missed a wedding rehearsal, but we could have lost so much more! We must always cover one another in prayer.

Sierah and Callie were both at Charydin and Danny's wedding the next day and what a joyous time that was. I blubbered a bit as I performed the service, but it was a wonderful celebration. My other three daughters were there to send Charydin off into married life and for each one of them and continued life, I just want to say "Thank You!" to our Lord. Amen!

CHURCH

2010-01-19T05:57:00.000-08:00

“THE CHURCH” is Not “ONE LARGE MOUTH” that God speaks through. The “CHURCH” has not only “ONE LARGE EAR” that hears what He is saying. The “CHURCH” is not “THE ONLY EYE” that sees Him moving or “THE ONE HEART” that feels His presence. The true living “CHURCH” of the living God is not “ONE HAND” that reaches out or “ONE BIG FOOT” that moves her forward.
True worship is NOT a spectator event; where ONE MAN performs, while all others listen. NO! The “CHURCH” is all of God’s People; His royal Priesthood speaking the truths shown to them by God; listening for His voice, seeing where and how He moves; multiple hearts intoned to God, feeling His presence, reaching out together in compassion; staying in step with The Holy Spirit.
The platform in the church should be the platform of God’s ideals which lifts Him up rather than a physical one that raises one believer above the rest. Isn’t Pastor be a gift rather than a position? The Word of God does NOT say “AND HE GAVE THESE POSITIONS . . .”
Finally “THE CHURCH” is NOT a building. God has never asked for temple made with human hands; He says that you and I are to be His dwelling place. Wherever we gather together in one place, that is “THE CHURCH”, that’s where HE lives.

Wow! God is STILL LEADING US!

2010-01-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

Family and Friends,

Just over two years ago our church family was over $20,000.00 in debt with dropping attendance and under a general cloud of discouragement.

God spoke to my heart to challenge us as a church to become debt-free so that we could become more effective in reaching the hurting and the lost. The mission seemed so impossible that we lost a couple more families. As the church shrank, I felt the need to do away with the inter-structure of the” church"; we simply didn't need an administrative team if there really wasn't anything to administrate.

As God always does, we took the first step and He has accomplished what would have otherwise been impossible without Him. Little did I realize that God would restructure our whole ministry and call me into bi-vocational ministry, but He did. He also called us to move and in short order call us to move a second time; first to lower rent and then by the generosity and the loving support of a pastor friend of mine (an extended period of "NO RENT"). This as much as Jim and I giving back our salaries has allowed all offerings to the ministry to be divided between touching lives of those who are hurting and needy and debt reduction.

As you can see from the forwarded message from James yesterday we have paid off all our debt, including credit cards down to a balance of just $500.00. A month ago, I was hoping to sell equipment and furnishings that are no longer necessary for our ministry in order to pay-off the debt. Selling the trailer and equipment we own is still on the agenda, but God has raced ahead of us while increasing the effectiveness of the community and ministry of the people called New Hope Community Fellowship.

What does the future hold? Once the debt is paid, will Jim and I "go back on salary?" Will we rent a bigger building or buy a place? I know we won't return to salary and God will need to pick us up and move us again, but as of now, where we are is our promised land; I want to pour every dime and every spare moment into broken lives; we want to build people, not a ministry. We want to lift-up the Name of Jesus that those who have yet to come to Him will have the opportunity. Other ministries have supported us TO ENABLE US to be the hands and the feet to reach the hurting where they are.

God's Word says, "Give, and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, SHALL MEN GIVE INTO YOUR BOSOM. For with the same measure that you mete with it shall be measured to you again."

When God’s people all come into unity caring more about the building people than building their “Own Ministries”, God is gloried and the lost are reached and the hurting (within and outside of the church” are healed. Jesus said, ‘IF I BE LIFTED-UP, I WILL DRAW ALL MEN UNTO ME”.

Join me in thanking our brothers and sisters in Christ who have allowed God to work through them to accomplish this first step toward our greater vision. Amen

Gary

owwww

2010-01-06T05:15:00.001-08:00

After one day with a Trainer, I AM SORE AND TIRED. I keep saying to myself, "exercise profits little!" I am pressing on even though I am in no shape to exercise.

Jesus came for the unhealthy

2010-01-06T05:06:00.000-08:00

“IT IS NOT THE HEALTHY WHO NEED A DOCTOR, BUT THE SICK.” MATTHEW 9:12

This passage has been playing over and over through my consciousness’ for weeks now.

Jesus came for the unhealthy, the unspiritual, the unworthy, the undesirable, the unlearned, not the sort of people you see featured on TBN or the 700 Club. He loved God with every fiber of His being and His fellow man without condition, more than He loved Himself.

He shunned the religious leaders who proudly wore their haughtiness as crowns. He ate with prostitutes, drunkards and thieves. He was tempted by every sin that we are and yet was without sin. He never built a church building or erected a sign; He met sinners where they were and loved them into an eternal relationship with God Jesus never promoted Himself and He never considered the “Ministry” His’. He only did what the Father commanded. He never owned a home and possessions never owned Him. He found His purpose and therefore His contentment in His obedience to His Father.

I once saw a picture which depicted Jesus asleep on the front pew during a church service; I somehow believe that He would find much what we do as believers as either boring or sin; most of our religious traditions have no more to do with Christ, than did the religious traditions of the Scribes and Pharisees. John Michael Talbot once asked in song, “Would You Crucify Him – if He walked right here among you once again?” He concluded the song with the conclusion, “I think we’d crucify Him – if He walked right here among us once again!” I concur. I don’t think more “believers” would do any better at recognizing Him today than our forefathers did when He walked among us the first time. Why?

We would be looking for a messiah that fits our image of God, just as Israel was looking for one in their own image.

Religious men proclaim, “I am without sin – alcohol has never touched these lips, I have never said a bad word, I have never have sexual temptation”
Spiritual men say, “ALL HAVE SINNED AND COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD AND I AM THE CHIEF OF SINNERS!”
With whom do you think Jesus would be found; the first or the later?
Jesus said, “IT IS NOT THE HEALTHY WHO NEED A DOCTOR, BUT THE SICK.”

LET US SEE THIS THING WHICH GOD HAS DONE

2009-12-23T07:48:00.001-08:00

“LET US NOW GO – AND SEE THIS THING WHICH IS COME TO PASS, WHICH THE LORD HATH MADE KNOWN TO US.” LUKE 2:15

There is within our nation an entitlement mentality. With the birth of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” Program, which created welfare, a new dependence upon others to carry the responsibilities of individuals was born.

Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” perpetuated and increased the expectation to a resulting “Welfare State”, which has produced generations of adult who rely upon others to provide for their most basic needs.

The rugged individualism and corporate cooperation of local communities to work together to achieve goals and to provide local needs dissipated. After decades of being taught that they were inferior and unable to provide for their families, fathers quit believing that they were able to make a decent living and many Americans forgot how to accept the responsibility to provide for their own.

The belief of “WITH GOD, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE” was replaced by the misguided dependence upon Government.

The Shepherds, the Wisemen and the common believers who walked before Christ had experienced reliance upon Government for their needs and come apart wanting. They had become dependant upon the laws of men to legislate fairness and come away cheated and disappointed. So when the Angel proclaimed the birth of a New King; God’s Son and a star was placed in the heavens to point the way, all men of seeking hearts sought him.

Their reliance was no longer upon what some man “WOULD DO”, they went to see “THIS THING WHICH IS COME TO PASS” (this thing which God has already done)!

Man may promise “HOPE AND CHANGE”, but ONLY God can deliver.

Only our loving Father can sincerely offer Eternal Hope and Lasting Change.
Man may promise, change by saying, “YES WE CAN”, but the Word of God has a greater promised backed by the infallibility of Almighty God Himself; He instructs us to say, ‘I (not the Government)CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST JESUS WHICH STRENGTHENS ME!” So, “LET US NOW GO – AND SEE THIS THING WHICH IS COME TO PASS, WHICH THE LORD HATH MADE KNOWN TO US.” Amen

DARE YOU DOUBT?

2009-12-22T07:01:00.000-08:00

Out of concern, John Lennon once lamented that with American Youth that The Beatles had become more popular than Jesus Christ and the world (especially the American “church”) erupted into mass hysteria. I doubt that many would argue with that observation today. Predictably without examining the intent of his observation, the church had reacted. Years later, not being able to separate his understanding of religion from God, the disillusioned songwriter wrote, the song “God” in which he summarized;

God is a concept,
By which we can measure, Our pain,
I'll say it again, God is a concept,
By which we can measure, Our pain,
I don't believe in magic,
I don't believe in I-ching, I don't believe in bible,
I don't believe in tarot, I don't believe in Hitler,
I don't believe in Jesus, I don't believe in Kennedy,
I don't believe in Buddha, I don't believe in mantra,
I don't believe in Gita, I don't believe in yoga,
I don't believe in kings, I don't believe in Elvis,
I don't believe in Zimmerman, I don't believe in Beatles,
I just believe in me, Yoko and me, And that's reality.
The dream is over, What can I say?
The dream is over, Yesterday,
I was dreamweaver, But now I'm reborn,
I was the walrus, But now I'm John,
And so dear friends, You just have to carry on,
The dream is over.

Within months of penning those words the only relationship which he professed to believe in nearly completely dissolved. Yoko sent him off to live with a younger woman for what became known as ”the lost weekend”, which was in fact two years of excessive living and debauchery. The end result was a “prodigal son’s” return home accompanied by sincere questioning of the mysteries of life and by many accounts his conversion to Christianity, which he held onto and is reflected in several songs written toward the end of his life.

Whether or not the later songs really do expose a sincere conversion, they certainly demonstrate a changed attitude and wiliness to examine much of what he had routinely dismissed earlier in life.

My point is, before you can sincerely know what you believe in, you must first know what it is that you do not believe in.

Never questioning translates into one’s believing what others have instructed you to believe without examination.

One confidence in another’s convictions can never be as strong as one’s own personal convictions.

For example, I don’t believe in this fallen world, I don’t believe in politics to better this world for mankind, I don’t believe in my own goodness, I don’t believe in the institutional church as it has evolved, I don’t believe in manipulation is from God, not even when practiced by Preachers, I don’t believe the church ought to be a begging-institution, but rather a giving-family, I don’t believe we ought to be about the business of imitating the world; knowing these things, I can now sincerely ask what do I believe?

I believe in the Kingdom of God which transcends our world. I believe men are corruptible and given power, men are easily corrupted, whether in politics or ministry. I believe we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. I believe Christ provides mercy and grace and salvation for those who seek Him. I believe in the New Testament Church as the New Testament Church existed. I believe as Billy Graham said, “If I can talk you into it, someone else can talk you out of It”; I believe, I am not The Holy Spirit, therefore I should not try to do His job. I believe the “Church” is God’s people and God’s people ought to be the most generous, unconditional givers on earth, not expecting anything as a condition to their wiliness to give. I don’t believe the Church is to be an Organization, but rather a living organism, which reflects the image of God.
God said “I PREFER OBEDIANCE OVER SACRIFICE”. If I pray three times a day because it is recommended by my Pastor, I may be cultivating a great religious habit, but if I pray without ceasing, because I long for the pretence of God in my life, I will, like Christ, despise religion.

What do you believe? Why do you believe it? Do not be afraid to question, but don’t be too stubborn that when you see the truth, to embrace the truth. Amen!

BUSINESS OR GOD

2009-12-18T06:04:00.001-08:00

“New Testament writers never use the imagery of a business corporation to depict the church. Unlike many modern “churches”, the early Christians knew nothing of spending colossal figures on buildings, programs and projects at the expense of bearing the burden of their fellow brethren” Frank Viola

The local newspaper headline said something like, “Local Preacher Begs for Money”; isn’t that how most of the world envisions the Christian Church anyway? The story went on to say how this internationally-known preacher needs 3 million dollars before December 31 or his ministry, which has already downsized by 35%, is in danger of collapse. Actually, the ministry collapsed long ago. What we are talking about is the need to finance a large corporate structure of buildings, programs and salaries. Where is that model in the New Testament Church?

The danger in running like a corporation is the possibility of dying like a corporation and the Christian Church (regardless of who they are) is one corporation Obama’s Administration will not bail-out!

The biblical model for Church is FAMILY. I suggest that it is impossible to grow a mega-church on a family structure. At some point, the structure, i.e. “church” becomes more important than individuals if it is going to continue to grow; the volunteer secretary who was with your ministry in the begging must be replace by a professional with more advanced skills, regardless of what that might do to her personally or spiritually, the once tight-knit familiar group grows into a sea of unknown faces and “community”, which once sprung naturally out of relationship, must now be scheduled and planned and programmed with little personal interaction. The “Pastor” must abandon personal interactions in order to operate as a CEO who is more concerned with the “survival of the ‘ministry”, than the spiritual health of his congregation.

For years, we struggled to live up to the maxim; “a church” has to operate as a business” and it nearly killed us. The reason is simple; God’s Church is NOT SUPPOSE TO BE A BUSINESS – IT IS SUPPOSE TO BE A FAMILY WHICH IS HEALTHY AND FUNCTIONAL. If we love one another, we will care for one another. We don’t need to adopt a business model, when God has already given us the model we are to follow; family. Amen!

TODAY HOLDS BLESSINGS!

2009-12-17T05:59:00.001-08:00

There are so many blessings with each new day; no doubt we also encounter some trials which teach us endurance, but it is the Joy of The Lord which strengthens us. So if you have lost your joy; RE-JOICE!

Determine to find the rainbow in each storm; if your husband leaves his socks by the bed, be thankful you have a husband. If your daughter writes on the walls, take time to thank God for her creativity and she is currently writing you’re your heart. Realize in a few years you will wish she were still your baby girl, crayons or not. If circumstances of yesterday have broken your heart, Thank God that it is no longer yesterday and as surely as the sun rises on each new day; today holds brand new possibilities for you. You can weep over what is lost and you can rejoice over what is yours now to find.

Years ago, I lost everything that was important to me; my wife, my children and most of my friends; all of my material possessions were gone and I was paying off debt that wasn’t mine. I dropped 75 pounds within weeks. I had a job making less money than I had ever made and more bills than I could possibly pay. I no longer had a home and my car was as close to death as I felt. I felt like curling-up into a big ball and dying.

It was then that I realized that I had nothing more to lose! Suddenly my spirit was filled with the realization that I was free to follow hard after God without hindrance; what more could it cost me?

I began to give beyond my means to give and I began to serve at every opportunity. I would drive to church with my gas tank on empty and walk out of church to find a twenty dollar bill in my coat pocket. I was free to live by faith and there wasn’t anything else the devil could take from me, except perhaps my life, but only if God would allow him and what would that matter? “TO BE ABSENT FROM THE BODY IS TO BE PRESENT WITH THE LORD!” Death held no threat to me. Most importantly, I began to rejoice. I began to see every minute blessing that God was giving me.

In time, like Job of old; my whole life had been restored better than I had ever known it before. I found love like I had never known, which continues to grow to this day. I had two more daughters and in time my first two came home to me as well and as God always does, He multiplied our joy of children with grandchildren which I have been able to enjoy. He has indeed restored to me all that the old worm tried to destroy and God has given me even more. And from the night I lay under a wagon on a fairgrounds realizing that I had nothing left to lose, God has allowed me to serve Him though ministry.

Out of the darkest nights comes the brightest promise of a brilliant new day ahead. Amen!

Mirror, Mirror

2009-12-16T05:13:00.001-08:00

Looking into the mirror, I see an unknown, but somehow familiar face staring back at me. It is not the face that was mine for most of my life; the eyes are dimmer, the face is fuller. Unexpected wrinkles and folds hide the man I once was. My hair is just as full as ever, but kept short in an older man’s cut; hair that once was held back only in a ponytail does not even touch my ears, let alone my shoulders. Heavier, somehow duller; unknown, but not unfamiliar, that is the reflection that I see.

I stare trying to determine who it is that I have become and I see my Father and his brothers. I recognize that I have the Holman’ head and nose. I look like my father in some ways, but I can also recognize my Uncle Arble and Uncle Roy, my eyes remind me of my beloved Aunt Deloris or Aunt Orpha. Life has in short order transformed me from a skinny rock-n-roller into a fat preacher. Life has robbed me of my youth and left standing in my place I man who resembles his father more than he resembles who he once was himself.

Spiritually I want to resemble my Father, not the father who helped to give me physical life, but the one who called my spirit man into existence. I wonder if the people around me notice a family resemblance to the One who is Love. When our Spirits touch, do they recognize the One who created them in me? As time has caused me to morph physically into the reflection of my birth family, has it also allowed me to be transformed more into His image? I hope so.

Three words, “God Is Love” changed the course of my life. Can the expression of that love through me help to transform the people He has allowed into my life? Will the man I conduct business with, the woman I speak to on the phone, the young man I pass in the car; will they see me or will My Father who is at work in me?

And who will they see in you? Will you reflect love or anger or mistrust or deceit? God’s Word clearly tells us that we are created in His image. Is His image clear in you or has the hardships of life left your countenance so distorted that He is unrecognizable? I pray you resemble your Father today in all you do.

The physical mirror reflects outward changes and an inward inheritance; I pray our spiritual mirrors would reflect inward changes that will lead to our eternal inheritance. Amen!

What If?

2009-12-11T07:55:00.000-08:00

What if, every church took all the money they pour into "Christmas Productions", cancelled all their special services, pageants and plays and gathered together instead in order to serve the individuals of their communities? advertising dollars and bought clothes for the homeless or even better; offered them a warm place to sleep?, What if they took their prop money and gave to the poor, saved their printing expenses to buy diapers for the babies of single mothers? What if every church funneled all that they invest in presentations and did their level best to fill every known need in their communities and partnered together with other churches to help meet yet other needs ?
What if ?
What if, every Christian Believer decided to buy only one special gift for each person in their family (including the children)? What if they only bought or better yet, made that one thing that their child or loved one would always remember? What if, like God we only gave our very best? What if the joy of Christmas was measured, not by the amount presents under the tree, but by the thoughtfulness and love behind each gift? What if each gift was so special that only one gift need be given?

What if?

What if, we took the time that would otherwise be spent on shopping for for our loved ones and invested it instead in being with our loved ones? What lasting memories could be created in place of the forgotten moments of excess that fill Christmas morning? What if, rather than spending hours and hours in rehearsal at church for music and plays, we chose instead to share life with one another? What if we invited our neighbors and community members into our homes for dinner? Would there be a greater?

What if?

What if, the focus of Christmas day itself was centered in believers coming together to worship, families coming together to visit, communities coming together to remember the goodness of God through the single gift of love for us through His only Son? What if we served the afternoon serving food to the hungry?

What if?

What if, at every Christmas table, each Christian family shared their meal with someone who would otherwise eat alone on that day?

What if?

I think the world might stop and notice; I think that they might find the answer to the gnawing hunger that haunts them, a hunger that will never be filled by more things or good times. The world has heard our sermons, they’ve seen our plays, but few have every had the opportunity to see that our lives are any different than theirs. What if we reconsidered how we celebrate Christ? I think those who are yet to know Him and we who do, might better understand the love of God.

ARE YOU WILLING?

2009-12-08T05:43:00.001-08:00

“FOLLOW ME” Matthew 9:9 b

The invitation of Christ echoes throughout time and creation. It is a call to all who are hungry of spirit and weary of soul. The brevity of these simple words belies the significance of life-change for those who readily respond to them.

Spoken first to Matthew, a man whose name is ever linked to sinners and prostitutes; a tax collector who routinely cheated people of their money, a significance, which offers hope to every sinner. It is an invitation whose significance stands as a warning to every person of religious persuasion.

Hear the voice of Christ; He invites you not to a cold dead religion; He invites you not to a social gathering; He invites you not to cold steal and stained glass; He invite you and me, as broken as we are into a living relationship with one another and with Father God.

Some refuse to heed His call because they do not love the Father, others refuse to heat it because they refuse to love their neighbors as much as they love themselves, yet others refuse to honestly respond to His gentle voice because they love their traditions and their religion more than they are will to love God or man.

Matthew’s response is recorded, “AND HE AROSE, AND FOLLOWED HIM. He rose-up from where he was, leaving life as it had always been behind and followed in the footsteps of Jesus, even unto death and life eternal. As Peter would later leave family, home and job; Matthew recognized his need and followed the only One who could ever fulfill that need. Peter saw his brokenness and followed after the only One who could heal his brokenness.
What about you? Are you willing to abandon all the “Known” for the “Unknown” of walking with Jesus? Are you willing to leave family and riches, comfort and even traditional church if need be to follow Him?

Jesus is calling, “Follow me!” What will you do?

Thoughts

2009-12-01T06:25:00.001-08:00

I awakened to an increased awareness of my need for God. This awareness grew from more than the sinus headache which punishes me even as I write; the awareness is born more from the eating hunger of emptiness which invades every corner of my spirit whenever I drift from His burning presence.

We live in an age that has taken the greatest truths and reduced them to vinyl bumper stickers and diminished love to nothing more than a Hallmark Store sentiment. Eternal truth orders our universe and true love has little to do with warm feelings of fondness and more to do with the gut-wrenching need to care for others more than we care for ourselves.

Certainly, we plan our way, but our Heavenly Father directs our steps. Our God family is once again vitally aware of God’s providence in our corporate worship life. In recent weeks He has once again opened the door for us to have a place to worship weekly.

We had been advised that we may need to move soon, but our God has said, not yet! He has not only showed us His great favor in keeping us where He has led us but as He always does, when we are in His perfect will; He has expanded our blessings in being there.

As a young man I sang of the elusive butterfly of love; as an older man I have hungered for the elusive experience of true Christian community, which like love is non-existent without sacrifice. I remember asking, “How will I know when I am in love?” The consistent answer left me frustrated; “You’ll know!” “Recently I have been seeking God hard, “How will I know when we have discovered true biblical community? How can I create it?” I suspect God smiles as He says, “You will know and you cannot create it, only I can. “ For the first time in a long time, we, as a God Family are indeed experiencing relationship rather than religion.

The greatest treasures in life are those intangible, elusive, sometimes almost mystical values that we cannot create, cause or define, but are wholly aware of when they exist; love, community, liberty, life.

So precious are these treasures that they come only through great sacrifice, even to the point of death. What did Jesus say, “HE WHO SEEKS TO SAVE HIS OWN LIFE SHALL LOSE IT, BUT HE WHO IS WILLING TO LAY IT DOWN FOR MY SAKE SHALL FIND IT.”

Tammy and I were discussing God’s law of supply and demand other day; we decided that some people call it Karma, some say “What Goes Around; comes around”, Jesus said, “GIVE AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN UNTO YOU, PRESSED DOWN, SHAKEN TOGETHER AND RUNNING OVER. THE MEASURE BY WHICH YOU GIVE IS THE SAME MEASURE BY WHICH YOU RECEIVE.” It’ is a law of God which applies to us all whether we believe in Him or not; this truth is so evident that it cannot be ignored or denied. “JUDGE AND YOU WILL BE JUDGED”; you give mercy, you will receive mercy multiplied, you give love and you will receive love multiplied, if you are gracious toward others, you will be able to be gracious to yourself as will others, more than you deserve, likewise, if you are judgmental, critical and damning the same will be returned to you in greater abundance than you dare imagine, perhaps not today or tomorrow, but sooner than you like and perhaps eternally unless you are repentant.

Yes, God is with us and His laws, as translucent as they may be never fail. Amen!

ORIGIN OF THANKSGIVING

2009-11-25T06:50:00.001-08:00

Many of us were taught a myth in school. In our “history” classes we were told that Thanksgiving was begun by the grateful pilgrims as they shared a feast with the native Indians (whom they later slaughtered). The truth is far less imaginative and politically correct for those who believe in the other myth of Separation of Church and State; Thanksgiving originated as a religious holiday instituted by our first President; George Washington. As a Christian, he believed it only right that we thank God for His provision and care of our Nation. Read his words and as you gather tomorrow, remember Thanksgiving was established as a religious holiday, which would be celebrated not with football or feast, but rather with prayers and repentance.
George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

What Are You Being?

2009-11-17T06:14:00.000-08:00

What will you do today? Do you even know? You have your plans and you may well do your best to follow those plans, but what thing of eternal significance will you do? In other words, in what way will you contribute to the building of God’s kingdom?

I asking you Spiritual Leaders as well, in what way will you contribute to the Kingdom of God; here’s a hint, your religious duties will not necessarily fulfill them.

The Apostle Paul admonishes us, “THEREFORE, WHETHER YOU EAT OR DRINK, OR WHATEVER YOU DO, DO ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD.” 1 CORINTHIANS 10:31 This literally mean that as disciples of Jesus, however we spend the next eight hours of life which we shall never recover, we need to invest them in such a way that the result of our choices live throughout eternity.

Should I go to church? In reality; church is the last place you are going to impact your world for Christ. However, at the gas pump, in the grocery line, digging a ditch, working in the office or the store or your business; those are places where you can share the love of God.

You mean I should witness for Him? No! Your life should be a witness for Him, there’s a huge difference. If I accost the girl in the grocery with Jesus jabber every time I see her, believer or not, eventually she’s going to run when she sees me coming. If, on the other hand, I am the most pleasant customer she has every day that I am in her line, she is eventually going to wonder what makes me so different from the grouches who usually fill her line. Eventually she is going to ask why I am so patient or loving or kind and I can tell her about Jesus when she is ready to hear.

But I’m not ashamed of Christ! Neither am I, but people must know you care about them before they care about what you say to them. The Christian life is not a sprint, it’s a walk. “THE MIND OF MAN PLANS HIS WAY, BUT THE LORD DIRECTS HIS STEPS” PROVERBS 16:9 If I have the faith to know that I am in step with The Holy Spirit, then I will be on God’s time table, I may not always speak first, but when I speak it will produce fruit.
You are alive today because God has something for you to be, I bet you thought I thought I was going to say, God has something for you to do, but you are NOT a HUMAN DOING, you are a HUMAN BEING! We must BE about our Father’s Business, which may mean nothing more than choosing to do your best at whatever you do to God’s Glory, at your job or at the gas pump, at home, in your yard or in your school. Each time another person sees the light of God’s love alive in you, you are expanding the boundaries of the Kingdom of God.
For Heaven’s sake, quit pretending to be perfect; you’re not. Just be the real you to the Glory of God. Did you get that? Not for your glory, not to enlarge your church or denomination. A lost and dying world is watching you; “THEREFORE, WHETHER YOU EAT OR DRINK, OR WHATEVER YOU DO, DO ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD.” Amen!

TRUE STORIES - WIHOUT LOVE

2009-11-03T05:17:00.003-08:00

A church member approaches his preacher after morning worship, without as much as a flutter of his eyes he boldly says to his pastor, “You know the last 6 months or so you’re preaching has sucked!” Taken back the pastor can only mutter, “I’m sorry”. “And I might as well also tell you that I don’t like your story-telling either.” Catching his breath and feeling his temperature rise, the pastor addresses the man by name and comments, “I’ve been your pastor for the past several years, my style hasn’t changed!” “Well, preacher, don’t you think it’s about time it does? I’m not the only one who feels this way!” Of course he would punctuate his verbal assault by speaking for others who are to cowardly to do the same.

To make the above matter sadder is the fact that the pastor in question has been ill for the past six months and even undergone heart surgery. It doesn’t seem the church member hasn’t even considered that the pastor’s health may have affected his preaching, nor has he considered how difficult it will be for the preacher to take to the pulpit whilst wondering who else is against him.

In another place, another time, the senior pastor gently takes the hand of his Associate Pastor’s wife, “I’m concerned”, he begins. “I know your husband hasn’t been home much lately. I know he has been telling you that he is working, but I have got to tell you, I have not been asking him to work these long hours, he says he’s making calls for the church, but are you sure he isn’t doing something else, perhaps seeing someone else? “

Sadly the feigned concern is just one of many ploys the Senior Pastor would try to discourage the Associate who was in transition to take the Senior Pastor’s position. Having left secular work and cutting his income in half at the Senior Pastor’s urging in order to effect a six month transition to the Senior Pastor position; after a culmination of 13 years of faithful service to that church body, after turning down various other ministry options at the Senior’s Pastor’ urging, he is unaware that the pastor has changed his mind and has decided to turn his ministry over to his recently married son, who had previously been uninterested.

Fortunately for the associate pastor, his wife knows him better than the senior pastor assumes. She and her husband communicate regularly every day, she knows of his tireless efforts for the church.

A young couple are asked by their pastor to led a particular ministry, unsure that they can be successful in the endeavor, they nonetheless “step-out in-faith” at their Pastor’s urging. When the costly adventure fails, the pastor steps aside like a trained matador and places the blame on the sincere couple.

Sadly, “brothers and sisters in the church” turn on the couple, leaving tem wounded and effectively without a church family.

I wish these were isolated stories, the exception rather than the rule; however the institutional church can be a very dangerous place for people with caring hearts. The corporate church can be as ruthless and cutthroat as corporate America. Loyalties forgotten, lies are told, names are called, reputations are ruined and families are destroyed all for the “GOOD of the ministry” or a man’s ministry. Manipulation, lies, deceit, heartless attacks are all tools of Satan whether used by laity or clergy.Jesus left the 99 to reach out in love to the one lost sheep, too many involved in church today will easily slaughter one in order to pacify the 99. Such behavior should never be found with Christ’s name attached. Whatever we do, whatever our plans, goals, efforts or actions, anything we do for God ought to be permeated by and with the love of God; if they are not; they are worthless! Consider, Pastor, Churchgoer, professor of Christ;

1 Corinthians 13

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long [and] is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether [there are] prophecies, they will fail; whether [there are] tongues, they will cease; whether [there is] knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these [is] love.

The greatest of these is love; Jesus doesn’t care how full your church is, how successful your programs are or how busy you are for Him if you do not love unconditionally as He loves us. Amen!

SOME QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

2009-10-30T08:17:00.001-07:00

Frank Viola asked a question that I would like all honest Christians to consider; Where do you see the modern clergy system in Ephesians 4? My Bible demonstrates different ministries there, not a clergy caste system. Methinks you are reading an unbiblical system into that text. "Pastor" in the first century is not what it's become today. If it is, can you give me one example of a man who preaches to the same congregation every week, marries the living and buries the dead, blesses civic events, is titled "pastor" or "reverend", is called the head of a church, etc. etc.”

Allow me to also ask; how does what we call “church” today, reflect the New Testament Church?

As a church, we are pressing into what God created while sifting through and discarding what man has added through the years; surprise of surprises we are now seeing lives touched and changed and Sunday worship is a joy again rather than an obligation (even for the leadership!)

If you are ready for relevance and life and to have everything you have ever known about church, pick-up “Pagan Christianity” by Frank Viola and George Barna. If you read it, consider Reimagining Church by Frank Viola or “The Untold Story of The New Testament Church or FROM ETERNITY TO HERE by Frank Viola.

Fair warning; don’t read these books if you are happy with status-quo church life.

THE CHURCH IS FAT

2009-10-28T06:34:00.000-07:00

THE CHURCH IN AMERICA IS FAT

This morning as I met with my associate, I had a revelation; The Church in America IS Fat. Why? For the same reason that most Americans are fat; empty calories and no consistent exercise for the body.

Everything in America is bigger and most of us have the mind set that “BIGGER is BETTER”. Our cars are big, our houses are big, our meals are big, our clothes are big, our appetites are big and never satisfied the more we eat, the more we want and need to eat. America in general is getting bigger all the time and not in a healthy way. And we are never satisfied.

Rather than eat many small nutritious meals each day, as most doctors recommend; many of us eat less often, but consume enough calories during those settings to feed several people. Furthermore much of what we eat is processed unhealthy empty calories; foods our bodies either cannot use or struggle to process. Such diet coupled with little or no consistent physical exercise and the result is a fat population of unhealthy people.

The American church too has strayed from what is healthy and has also become mortally obese. We have forgotten the model of the New Testament Church and adopted the practices of heathen religions, dedicated more to building and keeping our “houses of worship” rather than being ourselves the temple of The Holy Spirit. We have become infected with the gangrene mentality that “bigger is better” and so we create a vicious feeding cycle of building and supporting buildings and programs and special events, which we call ministry in order to pay the parallel growing hired staff and to maintain the structures now needed to house the growth.

As a sister in Christ wrote me yesterday, “our churches are so wrapped up in what we do, how much we give, where we can volunteer next, do more, give more, be more and people get overwhelmed and burned out because they are never allowed to REST and RESTORE to find out what is real inside of them.”; in the name of “church” and “outreach” or “evangelism” we demand more and more and more , expect more and more and bigger and better, but to what end? Empty calories which do not satisfy, but indeed enlarge the body. Are we effectively impacting our world for Christ? No! In fact we are not effectively impacting the Church for Christ.

After nearly thirty years in ministry and preaching and hearing preached thousands of sermons, I was dismayed at the unhealthy fat babies within the body of Christ. Great preaching, great worship; lousy men and women of faith, whose “beliefs” bore little resemblance to the lack of victory in their actual lives. I had to consider what was missing; in rexaming the early church, I discovered little resemblance to what we mass produce today as ministry. We’ve dropped our routine form of doing church and have decided to BE the Church. We have become a personal interactive community of believers who share life, good, bad and real; if you’re saved you serve, where God directs you to serve. I no longer preach as much as I lead an open discussion of the relevance of the Word of God in our lives. We quit bringing the projector, sound system, instruments and we’ve shut down programs and started bringing and opening the Bible. If we sing it is spontaneous, if we pray; it is real. When we commune it is around a full meal, like the early church.

The point is substance, subtance, substance. The result has been open confession of sin one to another and true spiritual growth. No more performance or pretending; just authenticy of community. Have we arrived yet? No, but we’re getting trim and healthy and if we are 15 or 25 in members – no stress our only growth goal is to grow in Him. Amen!

Daughter, who do you trust?

2009-10-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

WHY DO YOU BOAST IN THE VALLEYS, YOUR FLOWING VALLEY, O BACKSLIDING DAUGHTER? WHO TRUSTED IN HER TREASURES, SAYING, ‘WHO WILL COME AGAINST ME?” JEREMIAH 49:4

The NIT says, “YOU ARE PROUD OF YOUR FERTILE VALLEYS, BUT THEY WILL SOON BE RUINED. YOU REBELLIOUS DAUGHTER, YOU TRUSTED IN YOUR WEALTH AND THOUGHT NO ONE COULD EVER HARM YOU.”

We do not fall from God in the low places of our lives; we fall from His place of blessing; we fall from the mountain heights, the heights upon which the Lord has placed us.

The Prophet addresses such a believer who has been touched and blessed by God and in her riches and wealth, turns from the very God who has blessed her. More certainly than hardships will strengthen us, blessings can make us proud and pride is sin; “PRIDE GOES BEFORE DESTRUCTION AND A HAUGHTY (PROUD) SPIRIT BEFORE A FALL.” PROVERBS 16:14

I have never seen a man ruined with God by poverty, although I am certain it can happen, I have seen countless “Christians” ruined by prosperity. The scenario goes like this; the individual has need, they work hard, they pray, they fast, they call out to and trust in God; in time the blessings flow, life becomes easy; they rest a little to enjoy God’s blessings, but soon forget the blessings are from God; they become proud of what they have accomplished, they feel safe and secure and they become satisfied to place their trust in their own ability and their possessions; mistakenly crediting themselves with their new found fortune, they forget the days of hunger and want ; poor with the things of this world, but rich in their faith in God. Their only hope of being reminded of God faithfulness to them is when a new tragedy steals from them all they have previously gained. “THE RICH MAN IS WISE IN HIS OWN CONCEIT; BUT THE POOR MAN THAT HAS UNDERSTANDING SEARCHES GOD OUT.” PROVERBS 28:11

We should pray the prayer of Agur for ourselves, our children and our children’s children; “O GOD, I BEG TWO FAVORS FROM YOU BEFORE I DIE. FIRST HELP ME NEVER TO TELL A LIE. SECOND, GIVE ME NEITHER POVERTY NOR RICHES! GIVE ME JUST ENOUGH TO SATISFY MY NEEDS. FOR IF I GROW RICH, I MAY DENY YOU AND SAY, ‘WHO IS THE LORD?’ AND IF I AM TOO POOR, I MAY STEAL AND THUS IINSULT GOD’S HOLY NAME.” PROVERBS 30:7-9

I have four beautiful daughters; before I die, my only desire is to see them all serving God with al their hearts and teaching their children to do the same. To see that accomplished would fulfill the purpose of my life. Amen!

Out of The Darkness

2009-10-23T05:40:00.000-07:00

“HE WILL BRING TO LIGHT WHAT IS HIDDEN IN DARKNESS AND WILL EXPOSE THE MOTIVES OF MEN’S HEARTS.” 1 CORINTHIANS 4:5

Satan is a lousy secret keeper; he entices you to sin and then exposes you for being a sinner.

The laws of God cannot be altered; they are just and true and they never fail, even when you and I would rather they would. When God said to His people, “AND YOU MAY BE SURE THAT YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT.” NUMBERS 32:23 He meant it.

When He said “Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:4 Whether your reward be blessings or curses is not determined by God but by you and I, “FOR THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, BUT THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD.” ROMANS 6:23 The choice is yours.

You and I somehow expect to “get away” with our sin. Somehow, we believe that we will escape being found out, but there is way to lie to an all-knowing God, there is no way to out-maneuver an all-powerful God and there is no place to hide from an ever-present God; yet somehow we tend to believe the liar and destroyer of our soul when he says to us, “YOU SURELY WILL NOT DIE!” and so we sin and the reward of what we do in secret is brought to light and something, sometimes many things die.

There is one final promise of God to remember; “FOR WE MUST APPEAR BEFORE THE JUDGEMENT SEAT OF CHRIST, THAT EACH ONE MAY RECEIVE WHAT IS DUE HIM FOR THE THINGS DONE WHILE IN THIS BODY, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD.” 2 CORITHIANS 5:10

It’s not too late to repent; its not to late to ask God to help you stop sinning and walk away from it, back to your Heavenly Father and all who love you. Amen!

BEWARE SPIRITUAL ARROGANCE

2009-10-21T05:25:00.001-07:00

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”—1 John 1:8.

Beware spiritual arrogance! As Christians our hope is found in Christ alone. The Christian walk is a walk of honesty and humility, or else it is not founded in Christ at all.

The man or woman who proclaims their own righteousness or holiness or great faith is the one who is most certainly to be deceived.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” “Ah, but preacher, my sins have been washed away!” Your adoption into the family of God is certain and eternal, however the washing, the cleansing; your need for forgiveness is continual. Praise God, His grace is sufficient. Never forget; “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

Could Christ have offered the challenge, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone” John 8:7 Short of understanding Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”?

Would I have you doubt your faith? If your faith is in your own perfection and goodness than I would say, not only doubt it, denounce it, as Christ did after a disciple called Him good; "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone. Mark 10:18 If He who was tempted in all things as we are yet remained without sin did not consider Himself good, who are you and I to believe that we who are born into sin and remain at odds with sin should boast in our own “goodness”?

Are we to be like the Pharisee praying in the temple; “God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector” or should we be like the tax collector who “would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' Jesus said, "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Beware spiritual arrogance! Amen!

Loyal Friend?

2009-10-20T05:36:00.001-07:00

“LOTS OF PEOPLE CLAIM TO BE LOYAL AND LOVING, BUT WHERE ON EARTH CAN YOU FIND ONE?” PROVERBS 20:6 The Message

“Pastor, I would have followed you to the ends of the earth!” the lady said to me after telling me that she was leaving our church. My reply was simply, “But, you didn’t, did you?”

I sat and listened to a heart-broken pastor yesterday tell of how his ministry is being undermined by good, but disloyal members. I heard the same story again today from another pastor.

The weakness of human relationships isn’t only seen or felt within the ministry though; who of you have not been disappointed by a “friend” or family member? So many marriages today are broken upon the rocks of discontentment and heart-ache after the promises of loyalty and love are broken!

“LOTS OF PEOPLE CLAIM TO BE LOYAL AND LOVING, BUT WHERE ON EARTH CAN YOU FIND ONE?”

I used to joke that my late father never made a promise to us as kids that he didn’t break; as a kid it seemed that way. Poor dad often promised from his heart what he desired to do for us, but had no means of doing. His intentions were better than his word. As a father, I now understand that his heart often out-spoke his head.

Not everyone’s intentions are as pure as my fathers though. Most people have very conditional love, which is really not love at all. Most people have loyalty also which is based entirely upon whether or not we continue to please them, which is not loyalty at all.

So how should we measure out love and loyalty? As Christ measures them out to us, fully, freely and without condition; such love and loyalty frees men from their sin, such love and loyalty forgets their transgressions, such love and loyalty will change the world. The Psalmist writes, “LOTS OF PEOPLE CLAIM TO BE LOYAL AND LOVING, BUT WHERE ON EARTH CAN YOU FIND ONE?” We shouldn’t be surprised that there are so few, we should be determined that we each become one. Amen!

REMEMBER GOD

2009-10-09T05:50:00.001-07:00

“HE CAUSES HIS SUN TO RISE ON THE EVIL AND ON THE GOOD, AND SENDS THE RAIN ON THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE UNRIGHTEOUS” MATTHEW 5:45

Blessings and trials come unannounced; each new day will bring one or the other or both. The test of character is how we handle the blessings and trails which befall us.

There is a great danger of accusing God of being unfair when we are faced with trails; there is also, perhaps an even greater danger of forgetting God once we are snug within His blessings.

To blame God during trials is to forget His character; to forget that He is loving and just and righteous. The darkness of trials can blind us to His compassion; the wails of our own inner sorrow can deafen us until we no longer hear His many promises to keep and defend us.

As recipients of God’s blessings we so easily and quickly forget that He is the source of our good fortune. We are so quick to take credit; attributing our “luck” or our perseverance or our hard word and diligence; foolish man you cannot even take your next breath without His permission. Who is it that has equipped you to do what you have done? Who is it who teaches you what you need to know? Who has given you the gifting and the where-with-all to do what you do? Did you create yourself? Did you place yourself in your mother’s womb? As an infant, as a child, did you have say in where you lived and what you learned and the life that influenced you? No! Even as a man, the Word reminds us that we “WE MAKE OUR PLANS, BUT HE DIRECTS OUR STEPS”.

So abundant is the mercy and love and grace of our God; He never lets go of us. “HE CAUSES HIS SUN TO RISE ON THE EVIL AND ON THE GOOD, AND SENDS THE RAIN ON THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE UNRIGHTEOUS” Each day either blessings or trials will come our way; each day we have opportunity to bring Glory to the name of God by how we handle each. Amen!

Light Shine

2009-10-07T05:40:00.001-07:00

Jesus said, “LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE BEFORE MEN, THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS, AND GLORIFY YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN.” MATTHEW 5:16

Jesus; being all truth understood that within each of God’s created beings is the light of God. Created in His image; we are created to shine forth His glory. Before the fall of man to sin, the natural state of you and I was to be one of being sinless, therefore radiating the undefiled glory of God.

Jesus goes on to say, if we want a light to shine that we do not place it under a basket and yet some of you have done just that; you have allowed your own desires and interests and satisfactions to cover the light of God which burns deep within you.

You have allowed those situations, relationships, friendships and personal glory to hinder the glory of God in you. Indeed you no longer bask in the warmth of His love; why should you expect that anyone outside of yourself could see it? Where you once shone clear and bright upon the lamp stand of God’s Word, you have allowed your love of the things of this world to darken you.

Where are the good works of God in your life? What have you done for God lately? Let’s get real; what did you do that was not for you or yours yesterday? Preacher, you’re not exempt, how much have you done for God compared to how much you have done for ‘your’ ministry? How much time have you spent alone with Him compared to “doing the ministry”?

We are created for His good pleasure; whatever we do we are to do to the glory of God. Where is your light? Is it shining? Where is your heart? For where your heart is that is where your treasure will be also; you will give to that which you love.

You and I are given a few hours upon the plain of earth; we each hold an allotted amount of time with which to serve His’ purpose with our lives to bring God glory. With that in mind, how are you doing?

Jesus said, “LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE BEFORE MEN, THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS, AND GLORIFY YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN.” Let the people of God say, Amen!

DESIGNATE OR ELEVATE

2009-09-29T05:53:00.001-07:00

“CALL NO MAN YOUR FATHER ON EARTH, FOR YOU HAVE ON FATHER, WHO IS IN HEAVEN” MATTHEW 23:9

Recently, I have become, once again very sensitive to the brutish behavior of many spiritual leaders; pastors who manipulate and brow-beat and twist arms politically in order to carry our “their vision”.

I have myself been guilty of being far too authoritative in the past in some instances and so while examining the excesses of the institutional church and while changing the whole method of the way we experience worship; I have also been considering the relevance and even the correctness of using the term “pastor”.

This verse has been used in argument against using that word or any other to denote spiritual authority over others, but after careful study I believe like so much of our spiritual walk the “righteousness” of a situation is not the matter of practice as it is a matter of the heart. Heart-motive is far more important to God than whether or not we use a particular word or series of words.

The word in question is “father”. Is the root word for father the same as the root word for pastor? No, it is not. The Greek word here is patēr, which means father, while the root word for pastor is poimēn which literally means shepherd. The danger is not a word of designation for the spiritual leader; the danger is when the man of God sees himself as something “more” than those he leads. The sharp divide between clergy and laity is man-driven, not God-originated. We have perverted the role of pastor to elevate us, whereas God’s intent is that such a calling is servanthood; “To Minister” means “to serve”.

If we accept that this Scripture is not addressing the term Pastor, then let us consider what Jesus is saying; should we address spiritual leaders as “father”? A casual reading of the words of Jesus would suggest not, but if we are to take this verse literally, than we must also understand it would be wrong for any child to address their male parent as father either for it is the same Greek Word. Common sense tells us that Jesus wasn’t forbidding this type of use of the word "father." A careful study of Scripture shows that Job says of himself, "I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know" (Job 29:16). Elisha cries, "My father, my father!" to Elijah as the latter is carried up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kgs. 2:12) In Acts 7:2, Stephen refers to "our father Abraham," and in Romans 9:10, Paul speaks of "our father Isaac." He also refers to himself as being a father to the churches as well as being Timothy’s spiritual father.

Jesus refers to himself as Teacher, but looks at His words; a careful examination of the context of Matthew 23 shows that Jesus didn’t intend for his words here to be understood literally. The whole passage reads, "But you are not to be called ‘rabbi,’ for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called ‘masters,’ for you have one master, the Christ" (Matt. 23:8–10). I believe He was using hyperbole (exaggeration to make a point) to show the scribes and Pharisees how sinful and proud they were for not looking humbly to God as the source of all authority and fatherhood and teaching, and instead setting themselves up as the ultimate authorities, father figures, and teachers. Christ used hyperbole often, for example when he declared, "If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell" (Matt. 5:29, cf. 18:9; Mark 9:47). Christ certainly did not intend this to be applied literally, for otherwise all Christians would be blind amputees! (cf. 1 John 1:8; 1 Tim. 1:15). We are all subject to "the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life" (1 John 2:16).

It would be an easy “religious” matter if we are to merely avoid particular words; it’s much more difficult to allow the Holy Spirit to check the attitudes of our hearts. Man will almost always opt out for religious regulation over the reality and rigor of relationship.

I may or may not refer to myself as Pastor or even Brother at times in order to keep my own motives in check, and you need not feel the obligation to address me as such either; however when you do, I would hope it is not to elevate me, but to acknowledge my desire to walk with you, as we grow together in God. Amen!!

Bette J. Kingrey

2009-09-24T07:11:00.000-07:00

KINGREY (TULLER) Bette J. Kingrey, passed away in her sleep, September 20, 2009. Wife of the late Wm. E. Kingrey. (Hilda L. and Walter H. Tuller parents). Survived by Janet (sister) and Jack R. Atkinson of Phoenix, Jodi (niece) and Terry Wisenant, Merrilee (daughter) and Steven R. Goodrich, Wm. A. Kingrey (son), Stephanie, Sofia (great- granddaughter) and Wm. J. Kingrey (grandson), Ben A. Kingrey (grandson), Zach Kingrey (great-grandson). Charter member of New Hope Community Fellowship Church. Memorial service Saturday at Genoa Baptist Church, (3C Hwy.) at 11 a.m. Pastor Gary Holman officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations to Kid's n' Kamp or New Hope Community Fellowship Church. Arrangements by HILL FUNERAL HOME, Westerville.

Where Is Your Focus

2009-09-22T07:16:00.000-07:00

Our focus should not be so much on what others, including God; can do for us, but rather, through God; what we can do for others. Nothing is free except the Love of God. He gives it to us freely; our love given back to Him will cost us everything. However,what joy comes becoming whom we created to be.wever, what joy comes from becoming whom you were created to be.

Narcissism has invaded our theology, our worship and our expectations of God. Our worship is filled with expressions of I, Me, Mine. How Great Thou Art is recognized only through the goggles of His benefits to me. The Houses of Worship, which God does not expect us to erect, are designed for our comfort, our convenience and our glory, although most often we protest, “To God be the Glory!” How is He glorified in shrines built to ourselves?

We are to look outward; reach beyond and never sit down. We are to look beyond our desires; reach beyond our comfort and never rest in what God has already accomplished, even it is through us; there is always the remainder of this day to serve God.

Christ first command to those who would be His Disciples; “Deny yourselves” remains the most relevant. Certainly the greatest Command is for you and I to love God with all that we are and our neighbors as ourselves, but such love cannot exist in a heart that has not first been stripped clean of self-love.

Again, I will say, Our focus should not be so much on what others, including God; can do for us, but rather, through God; what we can do for others. Nothing is free except the Love of God. He gives it to us freely; our love given back to Him will cost us everything. However,what joy comes becoming whom we created to be.wever, what joy comes from becoming whom you were created to be.

RIP Bette

2009-09-21T06:32:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends,

It is with heavy heart that I must share with you that another good friend and Charter Member of New Hope Community Fellowship has passed away. Yesterday afternoon at 1:30pm our dear sister Bette Kingrey died. At 1:00pm she was sleeping peacefully and when her daughter checked her at 1:30pm she was gone. I arrived within minutes to find Bette; eyes and mouth closed, looking as though she was fast asleep; a fitting departure of a lady of such dignity.

When we visited last week, her one question to me was "What is taking the Lord SO long?" She follwed her question with a typical Bette statement, "I just don't understand it!". When I kissed her goodbye, I had no idea it would be for the last time.

Bette was instrumental in encouraging the formation of our church and she was faithful to the end. She was often frustrated by the fact that soem had left us and told EVERYBODY, "I can't attend anymore, but New Hope is my church!" She routinely said, "I love all you people down there"; I never figured out why she always said "down there", but it makes me smile thinking about her.

Tammy has known Bette all her life and in fact grew-up in the same house that Bette did. I have known Bette and her family for around 25 years, 10 of which she has been a charted member of our church.

While we are sorry to see Bette go, We rejoice that she has joined so many who have gone before her. Thirty-five from our church alone are there to greet her, not to mention her sweet mother Hilda, her husband and so many friends. I know she is in a better place,but she will also always be a part of who I am. I am blessed to have known her. I will let you all know when the Memorial Service is scheduled as soon as we know.

Sincerely, Brother Gary

IS OBAMA THE ANTI-CHRIST?

2009-09-14T05:20:00.001-07:00

“AND MANY FALSE PROPHETS SHALL RISE, AND SHALL DECEIVE MANY.” MATTHEW 24:11

I have been asked several times if I believe Barrack Obama is the Anti-Christ. I will be honest to say, I doubt that he is THE anti-Christ; I believe he is an anti-Christ; a false prophet, if you will, who will deceive many.

He comes making promises he cannot keep; using money he does not have; taking what is not his and giving it away; all the while he smiles and tells us that he knows better than we, what we have need of. What we need is less Government and less taxation so that you and I can care for our own and freely give to help others in need.

Bible Teacher Bob Mumford once said, “You cannot legislate love!” Men cannot be forced to treat one another the way they should by creating new laws. In the same manner forced charity is not charity at all; it’s thievery. I quit believing in Robin Hood a long time ago. When I was a child I thought as a child, when I became a man I put away childish things. Robin Hood did not only steal from the rich and give to the poor, he also lived well off the spoils; that in short is big government; “We will take from you who do work in order to supply the needs of everyone including those who are here illegally and those who do not work”, but Congress lives well off of the taxes they take from you and me. They have a lifetime of salary and healthcare that they do not pay for because of the working man and women; no wonder they relate so well to those who will not earn their own way, they are one in the same.

Last week Senator Joe Wilson shouted out “You Lie!” as the President was lying to the nation. Joe Wilson is the only person in that room who told the truth. Was his outburst inappropriate? Yes, just as it was inappropriate for the whole democratic side of Congress to openly boo President Bush whenever he was trying to speak in the same Senate Chambers. However, the very point Wilson proclaimed to be a lie, has since been exposed as a lie and one wonders if anyone would have bothered to question the truth of the statement had he remained silent in the assembly, rather than be censored, by the Senate, he ought to be thanked by the American people.

America; wake-up! NOTHING IS FREE. Whenever you are promised something for nothing there is always a bigger price tag attached to it somewhere that somebody is going to pay. “AND MANY FALSE PROPHETS SHALL RISE, AND SHALL DECEIVE MANY.” We are seeing only one. Amen!

Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal

2009-09-11T06:31:00.001-07:00

We must be determined to forgive and diligent to never forget. The truth is when great hurt occurs forgetting may seem as impossible as forgiving; in the case of such tragedies as 9/11, we must never forget, but in all tragedies we must be willing to forgive.

We must not forget that there stands an enemy ready to defeat us if we let our guard down. An enemy who believes there eternal salvation is tied to our obliteration, an enemy who mistakenly believes they have “nothing to lose” and “paradise to gain.” We must never forget the innocent lives taken, lives which would be taken again, if the enemy were given the opportunity. We must never forget that 9/11 was an unprovoked act of war; a war that exists yet to be won either from without or within. We must forget that the absence of violence does not indicate peace; there are attacks in the planning and battles yet to be fought.

We must however, as in all occurrences of hurt also choose to actively forgive. The act of unforgiveness is paramount to one drinking poison in hopes that his enemy will die. Unforgiveness is a dark cancer that eats its host from the inside out. Forgiveness is not forgetting. Forgiveness is not vindication. Forgiveness is letting go of another person’s throat, stepping out of the way and allowing a just and good God to do what is right. Forgiveness is first for the forgiver; love heals, hate destroys. Forgiveness doesn’t lessen the wrong of the offender; it does remove the weight of the offense it from your soul and the gruesomeness of the tragedy from your mind.

So today we remember and vow to stay vigilant. However we vow to stay strong through the righteousness of our own lives and hearts. We remember innocent lives taken; honor heroes taken; we pray for the dark twisted souls who could commit such an act. We vow never to forget. We choose to forgive. And by God’s grace we will continue to stand as one Nation under God. Amen!

THE CHURCH SLEEPS ON

2009-09-10T05:35:00.001-07:00

“AWAKE, AWAKE, PUT ON STRENGTH, O ARM OF THE LORD; AWAKE AS IN THE ACIENT DAYS” ISAIAH 51:9

It may sound flippant or even humorous to question; has the Lord’s arm fallen asleep? When you consider that the “Redeemed” are the Lord’s body, then it is very elementary to understand, that it is “WE” who have gone dead on God, not that God is in anyway restricted within Himself.

The Holy Spirit speaks through the Prophet Isaiah saying, “AWAKE, AWAKE, PUT ON STRENGTH, O ARM OF THE LORD; AWAKE AS IN THE ACIENT DAYS” yet I’m afraid the Church sleeps on.

Around us men hunger and thirst and are destroyed by sin; yet the Church sleeps on, Children lie homeless in our cities and run half naked and drug-crazed through abandoned apartments; yet the Church sleeps. We continue to build shopping mall structures of gold and glass to preserve and protect the saints as though the crop of the Lord is not already spoiled, the dying world longs for hope; yet the Church sleeps on.

Our corporate churches are run by men and women with credentials which rival those of the best CEOs in the nation as certainly they must as our houses of worship have become complexes of business. We sleepwalk through our days imagining; dreaming, that somehow we are making a difference while the Evening News tells a different story. As the lost agonize as though in childbirth in the hells of their own destruction; we recline in comfort, take satisfaction in our meetings and our classes and refuse to look beyond the stain-glass as the sanctuary; we don’t want to be disturbed, we may not be able to sleep, but we needn’t worry; for the Church sleeps on.

Our small groups and our little churches are exclusive to those who think and feel and act and look like they do; they convince themselves that all people are welcome however they feel threatened if their little core embraces anyone new; the message is alive; yet the Church sleeps on.

Do not be deceived; this message is for you and me for we are the church; the prophets see our heads nodding and he knows they do no nod out of agreement, but out of our own weariness. He sees that the Church sleeps on and so he cries out through the ages with a loud clarion call, “AWAKE, AWAKE, PUT ON STRENGTH, O ARM OF THE LORD; AWAKE AS IN THE ACIENT DAYS” and the Saints of Heaven echo AMEN!

THE RIVER OF GOD

2009-09-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

“AND HE SHOWED ME A PURE RIVER OF WATER OF LIFE, CLEAR AS CRYSTAL, PROCEEDING OUT OF THE THRONE OF GOD AND OF THE LAMB.” REVELATIONS 22:1

There is hope for a dry and thirsty land. There is hope for the parched and dying. In the arid places where demons dwell; in the dry places where hope shrivels and visions die; there is a silent echo, a whisper of a spring which flows from deep below. A distant bubbling can be heard; refreshment not yet seen, but desperately needed.

Soon the bubbling will become a passing and a passing a torrent and a torrent a stream and the stream a mighty river clean and pure and straight from the heart of God to all who are thirsty and barren and lost.

Where do we find this river? By what path will it empty into this hostile land? The trickle begins in you for you hold within you the throne of God; the bubbling is deep within me for the Lamb of God lives within me; through the crags and the outcroppings of our embattled hearts come the hope of mankind; for the Kingdom of God lives within all who have been washed clean by the blood of the Lamb. Just as great valleys are shaped by the rushing torrents of rivers in the wilderness, so our hearts are shaped as well as small seeping becomes a trickle and the trickle become a stream and the stream becomes a creek and the creek becomes the mighty rushing river of God, which flows through us to bring life not only to ourselves but to others around us.

The river runs pure for its source is pure. This river flows clean for the Son of God has cleansed us from all our iniquities and shame. This river brings live for it teems with the life of God. God’s breath bubbles from deep with in it to give life to all who will breathe. “AND HE SHOWED ME A PURE RIVER OF WATER OF LIFE, CLEAR AS CRYSTAL, PROCEEDING OUT OF THE THRONE OF GOD AND OF THE LAMB.” AMEN!

BAD BOYS, BAD BOYS, WHAT CHA GONNA DO?

2009-09-04T06:25:00.000-07:00

“WHEN A CRIME IS NOT PUNISHED, PEOPLE FEEL IT IS SAFE TO DO WRONG.” Ecclesiastes 8:11

There is no greater proof of this truth than the condition of our current society. Laws mean little and punishment means less. When a criminal is told that he is being sentenced to ten years; he begins calculating hat he will only do two. What would happen if a ten year sentence was actually a full ten-year sentence? What would happen if that 10 year sentence was of hard labor?

I do not understand how it is unjust to make people work hard in prison, if they are not willing to work hard and resort to crime within society. Hard labor is considered cruel; I consider crime cruel. How many sad stories have been told of countless innocent lives destroyed by repeat defenders who were out of prison early? How many of those offenders were out early because of heir “good behavior” within the controlled environment of prison? I never had trouble behaving with when my parents were in the same room either. It was always when I was left to my own resources that I broke the rules.

I once had a thirteen year old boy stand toe to toe with me and say, “If I killed you right now, they wouldn’t touch me because I’m too young! And even if they arrest me, by law, I can only be held until I am 18, then I’ll be released and you’ll still be dead. “WHEN A CRIME IS NOT PUNISHED, PEOPLE FEEL IT IS SAFE TO DO WRONG.”

Parents make the same mistake with their children; by trying to be loving and merciful they sabotage their own authority and household rules. “If you do hat ONE more time . . .” should never be in a parent’s vocabulary. I you know they disobeyed, they know they disobeyed. Delayed obedience is disobedience and punishment that is lessened isn’t punishment at all.

Think carefully what wise Solomon is saying, “WHEN A CRIME IS NOT PUNISHED, PEOPLE FEEL IT IS SAFE TO DO WRONG.”AMEN!VISIT OUR WEBSITE; http://www.newhopecommunityfellowship.com N.H.C.F. Touching Hearts - Changing Lives

IF ONLY - GOD!

2009-09-03T08:57:00.000-07:00

I remember thinking when I was a boy in church, “if only everybody could hear a good sermon, then everybody would get saved!” But “good” preachers are preaching "good sermons" everywhere; you can see them on TV, hear them on radio and there’s a church on nearly every street corner, but sin still abounds and the world keeps getting darker all the time.

I remember as a teenager going to a concert of Christian rockers and thinking, if only we could get this music out to the world; get more than 25 people to a concert, then everybody would have to get saved the world couldn’t resist it!" And the “Christian music industry grew and went world-wide and became a multi-million dollar business and the world did hear and yet sin still abounds and the world keeps getting darker.

“If only The Beatles or Dylan would get saved, then the whole world would listen!” or so I thought; Bob did get saved and the man dubbed “the voice of his generation” was silenced as live audiences jeered him and radio stations refused to play his “Christian” songs and sin abounded and the world kept getting darker.

Christian Radio, Christian Television, Christian Books and Christian Bookstores filled with music and books and trinkets became another over-priced industry, and we thought surely “just getting the Good News out to the masses, people will hear and get saved and some did, but in large we have done more damage than good to the cause of Christ by creating an irrelevant subculture that pushes those who have yet to meet Christ yet further away and sin still abounds and the world keeps getting darker.

“The answer is ‘Worship’! If we say, “Come as you are”, make the sermons relevant and the music contemporary and sinners comfortable, then they will come and hear and be saved”, and some have come, but when has being comfortable in sin ever compelled a man to repentance? So sin still abounds and the world keeps getting darker.

After thirty years of being in the “Healing Movement”, the “Born Again Movement”, the “Jesus Movement”, he “Charismatic Movement”, the “Discipleship Movement”, the “Worship Movement” with a helping of the “Inner Healing", 'Prosperity", and the' Toronto Movements" on the side, I decided to just love God and people and let God have all the rest.

At times, this too has seemed to fail. I have been abused in my life, as a young man I was raped; but I have never been as abused as I have been abused, by the “church “and by “Christians”. The rape was nothing compared to the spiritual and emotional rape that has been perpetrated on me by more than one “Pastor”. Most of us come from dysfunctional families, but until you survive a spiritually abusive church, you have no idea what dysfunction means.

We say, “if we can only love them enough, then they will no longer hurt and they will love us in return and we can keep sin at bay and turn back the darkness", yet Jesus willingly stretched out His arms and allowed men he loved to crucify Him; fully aware that even the ultimate act of love would not be received by all.

Church family, movements of men come and go with various degrees of success or failure, but the greatest commandment is that we love God with all that we are and love others as much as we love ourselves and in spite of our best and often misguided efforts, the efforts of man will never save the world; sin still abounds and the world continues to grow keeps darker and it will until the One who is Love, Life and light makes Himself known.

IN HIM

2009-09-03T04:14:00.000-07:00

“THE SPIRIT OF GOD HAS MADE ME, AND THE BREATH OF THE ALMIGHTY GIVES ME LIFE.” JOB 33:4

Before I was conceived into this life I was already in communion with Him who creates and calls us all. As the rain is happy to return to the ocean waters of her birth so the spirit of man rejoices to be reabsorbed into that from which he comes.

A great insatiable hunger stalks us each one until we find reunion with God; the Holy Spirit waits as an eager guide outside the heart’s door to show us the way; Christ has washed clean our path by His very blood and the Father awaits His prodigal children to find their way home. The journey begins long before air fills our lungs and continues after we cease upon this plane of life.
Whether God is amazed or amused at our aimless wanderings, I do not know; I do know He is ever present to lead us and unite with us. How pointless is most of what we fill our time with; how little we do for God or His Children; we have so little time for anyone once we are finished serving ourselves. At worse we never give God a thought, at best, most will squeeze out an hour or so a week to go though the motion of worshipping Him in a way that is most foreign to the God who calls us. Many never consider that life and worship are to be more.

Saddled by the pagan traditions of religion we must strive before we realize that there is anything more. Still the Holy Spirit waits to breathe life into us; the life we are suffocating to know. “IN GOD, I LIVE AND MOVE AND HAVE MY BEING”; as a fish absorbs and is absorbed in the water of life through which he moves, so I must absorb, be absorbed and move in His presence. What a pitiful substitute is the religion of man for a living relationship with God. How pale are routine are the obligatory gatherings of “church” when compared with the refreshing reunion of a family who loves God.

“THE SPIRIT OF GOD HAS MADE ME, AND THE BREATH OF THE ALMIGHTY GIVES ME LIFE.” Amen!

He Could HAve Built The Healing Church Of Jesus

2009-09-02T05:50:00.000-07:00

“NOW WHEN HE SAW THE CROWDS, HE WENT UP ON A MOUNTAINSIDE AND SAT DOWN. HIS DISCIPLES CAME TO HIM, AND HE BEGAN TEACHING THEM SAYING,” MATTHEW 5:1-2

Apparently Jesus missed the “Church-Growth” Seminar. He had been praying for the sick and people were getting well and multitudes were gathering and instead of playing to the crowds, He left them.

Some translations are even clearer, but because Jesus saw crowds gathering, he fled them to teach the twelve. He began teaching THEM (the twelve) saying . . .” Why is this so important? Because it flies in the face of everything the traditional “church” holds dear; bigger is better, more equals success; the business church model is alive and well.

The popular mantra says, “If it is healthy, it will grow”, but by what standard? What is healthy growth? Is healthy growth a hundred Luke-warm believers and two on-fire disciples or 11 men who are on their way to becoming on-fire ready – to-lay-down-my-life friends of Jesus?

Many “church experts” today would instruct Jesus to capitalize upon His notoriety; exploit His success. Multitudes desired to follow His ministry, He could have built the “Healing Church of Jesus” on the spot; He didn’t. He didn’t even receive an offering. He could have spent weeks during the healing campaign to advertise His upcoming Sermon on the Mount. He could have preached this Kingdom Message to the multitudes as many paintings erroneously imply, but instead He left the crowds behind to instruct His closest companions and thereby impart Himself into 12 lives. The cynic might say, “Well that was Jesus’ mission!”

And I would then ask, “Should it not then also be our mission as well? Didn’t Jesus say that He had come and to seek and to save the lost? Weren’t there more “lost” in the multitude than in the twelve, Judas aside?

Jesus did “ministry” all wrong by our standards; even the prophet Isaiah indicates that His physical features would not make Him noticeable, “HE HAD NO BEAUTY OR MAJESTY TO ATTRACT US TO HIM, NOTHING IN HIS APPEARANCE THAT WE SHOULD DESIRE HIM.” ISAIAH 53:2 The fact that Judas has to identify Him with a kiss indicates that His appearance wasn’t different from the other Jewish men. Jesus didn’t promote His face, His Name or His ministry; He simply fulfilled it. When given multitudes, he fled them to invest in twelve.

May God help us as we strive to serve Him. Amen!

PRAYER NEEDS

2009-09-02T05:49:00.001-07:00

Family,

My friend of nearly 30 years; Charles Weigand George & Tim's father) is in very serious condition physically. He is in the hospitel in Kentucky. He fell a couple weeks ago and hit his head. He refused to seek treatment. He was sleeping alot and getting weaker when he started experiencing paralysis. Last Sunday the family got him to the hospital near where he lives and they flew him by helicopter to Lexington Hospital for emergency surgery for a brain bleed. As of Tuesday he had some paralysis still when he was rushed back into surgery because of further bleeding. I have not heard of any further news as of today. Prayer for Charles, his wife; Dottie and all the kids.

I also just got this not from Donna Williams;

Mark is back at OSU east hospital,

His infection is back.
He is in isolation.
Please keep him in prayer!
Love & Hugs, Donna

She gave me a phone number and asked me to call him and I did. I am not sharing it atthis time because he has a serious migraine and is too sick to talk, so please pray that God deliver Mark from this Mersa Infection - it is VERY serious at this point for Mark.

Your Brother in Christ,
Gary

TIME TO RETHINK CHURCH

2009-09-01T05:44:00.001-07:00

I once believed that a different church on every corner reflected the need for differing forms of worship according to the various personalities of people. I have come to realize that there is such division within the body of Christ, for no nobler reason that our inability to get along with one another.

The eye believes that the foot and the hand and the mouth and the head all ought to look and function just as he, the eye functions. The mouth cannot understand why the toe will not carry the same passion for speaking or tasting as he, so rather than try to function with the toe to accomplish a united vision; the mouth begins his “mouths only” church.

The metaphor for the church that dominates the New Testament is “family”, however if the Body of Christ of today is a family it is certainly the most dysfunctional family the world has ever known. This family is far from the one that is quipped to welcome the unchurched into the church family.

The American ideal of what the church is to be is far from what Jesus ever described; Hal Miller says, “UNFORTUNATELY, THE METAPHOR THAT DOMINATES MOST OF AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY DOESN’T HELP US MUCH; WE USUALLY ENVISION THE CHURCH AS A COPORATION. THE PASTOR IS THE CEO, THERE ARE COMMITTEES AND BOARDS. EVANGELISM IS THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS BY WHICH WE MAKE OUR PRODUCT, AND SALES CAN BE CHARTED, AND FORECAST. OF COURSE, THIS MANUFACTURING PROCESS GOES ON IN A GROWTH ECONOMY SO THAT ANY COPORATION-CHURCH WHOSE ANNUAL SALES FIGURES AREN’T UP FROM LAST YEAR’S IS IN TROUBLE. AMERICANS ARE QUITE SINGLE-MINDED IN THEIR CAPACITY TO THE COPORATION METAPHOR, AND IT ISN’T EVEN BIBLICAL.”

In reinstating Peter, Jesus did not say, “Do you love me? Go to church!” He said, “PETER, DO YOU LOVE ME? FEED MY SHEEP, CARE FOR MY LAMBS; in so many words, “BE THE CHURCH!” One cannot separate the call of God for one’s life from the call of God for Community. Community is not just fellowship and fellowship is not just eating at Stan’s Restaurant together with other Christians. Gilbert Bileziken says, “COMMUNITY IS DEEPLY GROUNDED IN THE NAME OF GOD. IT FLOWS FROM WHO GOD IS. BECAUSE HEIS COMMUNITY, HE CREATES COMMUNITY. IT IS HIS GIFT OF HIMSELF TO HUMANS. THEREFORE, THE MAKING OF COMMUNITY MAY NOT BE REGARDED AS OPTIONAL FOR CHRISTIANS. IT IS A COMPELLING AND IRREVOCABLE NECESSITY, A BINDING DIVINE MANDATE FOR ALL BELIEVERS AT ALL TIMES. IT IS POSSIBLE FOR HUMANS TO REJECT GOD’S COMMISION FOR THEM TO BUILD COMMUNITY AND TO BE IN COMMUNITY. BUT THIS MAY HAPPEN ONLY AT THE COST OF FORSAKING THE CREATOR OF COMMUNITY AND BETRAYING HIS IMAGE IN US; THIS COST IS ENORMOUS, SINCE HIS IMAGE IN US IS THE ESSENTIAL ATTRIBUTE THAT DEFINES HUMANITY.”

There is no struggle within the community of the Godhead of the Trinity; Jesus does not resent the Holy Spirit for having separate desires or function, God the Father doesn’t resent that God the Son walked among us, in skin as one of us and He hasn’t; no, God is community. Community accepts, receives believes and supports.

How do you define church?

YOU HAVE HEARD IT SAID . . .

2009-08-24T04:59:00.000-07:00

“YOU HAVE HEARD IT SAID, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AND HATE YOUR ENEMY.’ BUT I SAY TO YOU, LOVE YOUR ENEMIES, BLESS THOSE WHO CURSE YOU, DO GOOD TO THOSE WHO HATE YOU, AND PRAY FOR THOSE WHO SPITEFULLY USE YOU AND PERSECUTE YOU, THAT YOU MAY BE SONS OF YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN; FOR HE MAKES THE SUN RISE ON THE EVIL AND ON THE GOOD, AND SENDS RAIN ON THE JUST AND ON THE UNJUST.” MATTHEW 4:43-45

This is the test isn’t it? To be a Christian is to live in opposition to your natural nature; it means to love those who hate you and to good to those who use you. There is no place within the believing heart for malice; no secret room where it is safe to store anger or revenge, no peg upon which you are to hang grudges.

Have we not been told, even if we perform all manner of miracle and yet do not love that our actions are useless? How easy it is to “love” those who love us; how easy it is to give if when we think there is a possibility of return or reward for such gifts. Sincere love is however when we sacrifice knowing there is nothing to be gained; greater love is when we give just as freely while understanding that we are being used.

We do not love for our sakes; we love for those around us, showing them the unconditional love of their Heavenly Father. Though our love is always tempered by our humanness, we can in small ways hint at the boundless depths of the Father’s love for us all.

God gives abundantly to all His children; the sun shines upon the good, the bad and the ugly, while the rain refreshes both those who are fair and those who are unfair.

Believer, your job is simple, but there is nothing easy in it; that is it is uncomplicated, but not easy to perform; Jesus says,
“YOU HAVE HEARD IT SAID, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AND HATE YOUR ENEMY.’ BUT I SAY TO YOU, LOVE YOUR ENEMIES, BLESS THOSE WHO CURSE YOU, DO GOOD TO THOSE WHO HATE YOU, AND PRAY FOR THOSE WHO SPITEFULLY USE YOU AND PERSECUTE YOU, THAT YOU MAY BE SONS OF YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN; FOR HE MAKES THE SUN RISE ON THE EVIL AND ON THE GOOD, AND SENDS RAIN ON THE JUST AND ON THE UNJUST.” AMEN!

A Man Most Content

2009-08-21T11:52:00.000-07:00

I sat with a man today; a man most content

I spoke but never an answer gave he,
He was troubled neither by thought or rebuttal

I shifted in my chair after some time,
My weary bones aching from toil and age
But he who kept me company was most relaxed,
without even the slightest twinge of pain

I challenged him with politics, religion and moral debate
Like a skilled listener, he held his tongue; as though both heart and mind were locked away

He had neither a worry nor care
He felt neither an ache nor pain
No matter how I rambled
His silence convinced me of his vast wisdom
And his greater self-control

His appearance was perfect;
He looked younger than he had in years
His hair was neatly combed, every hair in place
His clothing without spot or wrinkle
And His very presence caused me to pause; to consider

For who is the man who is most content?
Who is the man without worry, thought or care;
Who is the man without ache or pain,
who is the man looking better today than he has for years?
Who is this man who is the picture of control and repose?

He is the man who is dead
He who lies so quietly in his casket
Perfectly at ease without the slightest tinge of dread
He is the man who is most content; the man who is already dead.

8/21/2009 Gary L. Holman

LOOK TO GOD

2009-08-19T04:47:00.001-07:00

“TROUBLE AND DISTRESS HAVE COME UPON ME, BUT YOUR COMMANDS ARE MY DELIGHT.”PSALM 119:143

Nothing touches the heart of a parent as much as the concern for the well-being of a son or daughter. Other troubles may camp at your door routinely; other trials pass, at times nearly unnoticed, but when are children are in danger or making risking decisions or participating in risky behavior, our lives can come to a screeching stop.

The worry, the concern, the heart-ache and the sorrow can consume us; how we want to make their decisions for them. In such times, we need to remember the laws of God are in place. His Word is true and if He cares for you and me, He will certainly care for our children and loved ones as well.

Jesus said, “IN THIS WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLES, BUT I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.” You and I must cry out to God with loud voices; “we trust you God, we know that you are God and you are good and merciful and just!

In as much as we love our children; in as much as we love our parents; in as much as we love our spouses, He loves them more. When we have done all that we can to teach them and guide them and care for them and love them; then the test comes for us to release them,

It is God’s Word that orders the lives of His children; we must place our trust in His commands.

FATHER GOD, W COME TO YOU AND WE ASK FOR STRENGTH. Allow the angels to intervene on our behalf. As trials and troubles rise around us like a flood we place our trust in the security of your commands. Speak where we cannot speak; say what we cannot say, direct and protect those we love for where our arms are too short, your love never fails. In Jesus mighty name, we pray; Amen!

IN WHOM WILL YOU TRUST?

2009-08-18T05:35:00.001-07:00

“YOU HAVE PLANTED MUCH BUT HARVESTED LITTLE. YOU HAVE FOOD TO EAT, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO FILL YOU UP. YOU HAVE WINE TO DRINK, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO SATISFY YOUR THIRST. YOU HAVE CLOTHING TO WEAR, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO KEEP YOU WARM. YOUR WAGES DISAPPEAR AS THOUGH YOU WERE PUTTING THEM IN POCKETS FILLED WITH HOLES!” HAGGAI 1:6

The prophet speaks to the condition of those who disobey God. There is no success a part form the blessing of God.

As conditions around us deteriorate our only hope is in the mercy and grace of God. Men look to men, but the ways of men are riddled with selfish intent. Only God gives graciously and freely and abundantly; only God has the unlimited resources to satisfy all our needs and the ability to keep us in spite of enduring trials.

If you find yourself frustrated with each step, perhaps you should reevaluate with whom you are walking. If you your good faith comes back to you void, perhaps you should reconsider in whom you are placing your good faith.

As David reminds us, “I HAVE BEEN YOUNG, AND NOW I AM OLD; YET I HAVE NOT SEEN THE RIGHTEOUS FORSAKEN, NOR HIS SEED BEGGING FOR BREAD.” PSALM 37:25

Hold Tight Your Shield

2009-08-12T05:58:00.001-07:00

“AS FOR GOD, HIS WAY IS PERFECT; THE WORD OF THE LORD IS PROVEN; HE IS A SHIELD TO ALL WHO TRUST IN HIM.” 2 SAMUEL 22:21

This fallen world is full of opportunity for compromise. Following our deceitful hearts, we so easily compromise what we know to be truth; we compromise our health; physically, emotionally, mentally and unless we remind ourselves of God’s goodness to us; we too often compromise ourselves spiritually.

Hear the words of the man of God; embrace the wisdom of lessons learned, remind yourself of your Father whose heart is broken by our willful sin.

“AS FOR GOD, HIS WAY IS PERFECT”; For our sake’ “THOU SHALT NOT. . .” is written. Being the One who created us, He knows what is most profitable for us. Our sin does not threaten His Lordship; it breaks His heart, for us. He knows the destruction that awaits His rebellious children. “FOR THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, BUT THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD!” ROMANS 6:23

“THE WORD OF THE LORD IS PROVEN; God’s communication is perfect. His Word is a Light unto our way, Lamp unto our feet; life and that abundant and eternal. The more the darkness of the world assails us, the more we need His Light, the more confusing the path before us the more we need His direction; the more death surrounds us and demands that we make more of it than we ought; His Word reminds us and keeps us; “OH DEATH, WHERE IS THY STING? O GRAVE, WHERE IS THY VISTORY?” 1 CORINTHIANS 15:55

“HE IS A SHIELD TO ALL WHO TRUST IN HIM.” Only a ruthless, conniving, deceptive enemy would convince his foe to drop his shield in the heat of battle; only sin-prone man could be foolish enough to do so, yet how often, at the very time we have need to place all our trust in God, do we choose to abandon such trust; do we push aside God who is our shield.

About 30 years ago, after faithfully fighting the enemy for years, in an area of my life. I let down my shield; I let down God. I listened to my heart; I reasoned with my brain and I choose to ignore the counsel of the Word of God for this area of my life. I felt abandoned by God and man and so I pushed aside the shield who had been protecting me from the firey darts of the enemy. Without God to keep me the projectiles hit their mark and I fell wounded and dying.

In the heat of battle, out of loneliness and fear and sorrow and feeling abandoned, I compromised God’s will for my life; after years of flirting with temptation; I sinned, and my world tumbled. I suffered tremendous loss.

And even though I eventually sought and found God’s forgiveness; even though I would recommit to God’s will in the situation; even though by His great mercy, like Job, I was given back everything I had lost and more; my greatest sin came when I failed to continue to trust God to resurrect what was already dead; I failed when I pushed God who is my shield away and leaned unto my own hurt and twisted understanding.

Oh, how I should have said, ‘WHAT TIMES I AM AFRAID, I WILL TRUST IN GOD!” PSALM 56:3

“AS FOR GOD, HIS WAY IS PERFECT; THE WORD OF THE LORD IS PROVEN; HE IS A SHIELD TO ALL WHO TRUST IN HIM.” 2 SAMUEL 22:21 Every day in big and small ways we have opportunity to prove or fail God; my prayer is that you hold tight toGod who is your shield. AMEN!

SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP

2009-08-10T06:24:00.001-07:00

“THINK OF ME AS A FELLOW-PATIENT IN THE SAME HOSPITAL WHO, HAVING BEEN ADMITTED A LITTLE EARLIER, COULD GIVE SOME ADVICE.” C.S. LEWIS

I adopted a new way of considering what it means to be a pastor; this is not a new perspective, I believe as much as it is the correct perspective. My vision of who pastors are to be is less authoritarian; more visionary, less elevated; more comrade, less religious relic; more human and subject to life as all others.

A pastor is perhaps walking with you on an unknown trail, but not necessarily pointing out the directions as much as he is helping you to find them along with himself, He may know where he wants to go, but he is convinced that God will speak through anyone present to help get everyone there together. He places more confidence in God; less in himself. He listens to the voice of God through others, as much as he listens for the voice of God within Himself.

His title means little; it is his heart that sets him apart. C.S. Lewis describes a spiritual leader well when he says, “THINK OF ME AS A FELLOW-PATIENT IN THE SAME HOSPITAL WHO, HAVING BEEN ADMITTED A LITTLE EARLIER, COULD GIVE SOME ADVICE.”

How liberating such an attitude brings! It is not MY church or MY people; it is NOT MY responsibility to make people attend, grow or remain. God calls a group of people together to be his church and we leaders merely assist in finding a time and place to grow together; what happens beyond that, is up to God and to those who are called to come together.

Where is this Church? A part of it is in O.S.U. East Hospital this morning, another part is working at the laundry on Route 3, another part is attending to children at a day care in Sunbury, and another part of it is in Whitehall, Reynoldsburg and on Cleveland Avenue. The Church is not a place or a location, the Church is the people of God and the Church is wherever God’s people are gathered. We meet, where we can.

God help humility replace arrogance, love replace ambition, earnest submission replace manipulation, vision replace schemes, faith replace self-preservation, The Holy Spirit Ministry replace man-directed programs. Amen!

DO NOT BE DECEIVED

2009-08-07T05:35:00.001-07:00

“BE NOT DECEIVED; GOD IS NOT MOCKED: FOR WHATEVER MAN SOWS, THAT SHALL HE ALSO REAP.” GALATIANS 6:7

Believer, do NOT think for a New York Minute that you cannot be deceived.

The prophet told us, “THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS, AND DESPERATELY WICKED: WHO CAN KNOW IT?” JEREMIAH 17:9 So the advice, “Just follow your heart” is horrible advice; your heart will deceive you more times than not. You need to follow the Word of God which does NOT change. In it there is light and life.

I was a young man and now I am old; I have learned a few things, some through very painful lessons, that help be avoid deception; for example,

if I need to ask whether a situation is right for me – it isn’t!

If I want to know if my attitude or my actions are ok than I need to examine whether of not I would ever be ashamed of them.

For example, “Am I being too friendly with a member of the opposite sex? Would I behave the same way if my wife were present?

Should I look at something on the computer? Would I look at it with my Pastor or a member of my church?

Should I say this? Would I say it in front of the person it concerns?

Relationships are built or torn apart due to
trust or lack of it;
communication or lack of it,
nurturing or lack of it.

Here is another simple truth; If an action of mine offends my wife, that should be reason enough for me not to pursue it further; whether I feel it is right of me or not, as a married man if it’s not right with her, it’s not right for us, if it’s not right for us, it’s not right for me.

Perhaps I didn’t realize that this limitation would come with this relationship, but if I am committed to my relationship, I must do what is best for it, sometimes to my temporary chagrin (she does the same for me). Relationships are give and take – sometimes you give-up something you love for your mate and sometimes she does the same for you.

When you argue (and you will) the argument should not be about who is right and who is wrong, but how can we resolve this difference and each grow closer to God through it?

Finally, you never get away with ANYTHING. You can call it Karma; I call it the law of God – what goes around comes around. EVERYONE thinks they will never get caught; EVERYONE does sooner or later, but you will get caught and you will pay the highest price for your bad decision.

How did the serpent win over Eve? Through deceit and lies, “Surely this isn’t wrong – God will understand!” “REMEMBER, IT IS SIN TO KNOW WHAT YOU OUGHT TO DO AND THEN NOT DO IT.” JAMES 4:17 But be care also that you are not deceived. Forget your emotions; what does the Word of God say? What does God want you to do? Do you really need to ask?

“BE NOT DECEIVED; GOD IS NOT MOCKED: FOR WHATEVER MAN SOWS, THAT SHALL HE ALSO REAP.”

CARNAL OR SPIRITUAL?

2009-08-05T04:51:00.001-07:00

The carnal man demands his rights. The carnal man wants to live at the edge of Sodom where he can flirt with sin without being marked by it. Such a desire is foolish for no flirtation with sin can leave us unmarked. Carnal man takes the blessings of God and uses them for his own enjoyment, promotion and comfort. The carnal man needs the law to bring control to his behavior he himself is not willing to control. The carnal man lives for himself.

The spiritual man understands that he has no rights. The spiritual man wants to live as far away from sin as he possibly can for he understands that even the passing shadow of sin will leave him scarred. The spiritual man recognizes the blessings that come from God to be vehicles of salvation for those who are yet to come. The spiritual man only needs the Word of God to direct him; it is the “LAMP UNTO HIS FEET” in a darkened sinful world. The spiritual man lives for others.

2 CORINTHIANS 6:14 “DON’T TEAM UP WITH THOSE WHO ARE UNBELIEVERS. HOW CAN GOODNESS BE A PARTNER WITH WICKEDNESS? HOW CAN LIGHT LIVE WITH DARKNESS?

Life is often difficult; there are few seasons of pure joy; where there are no heartaches or challenges. We cannot control what tomorrow brings into our lives, but we can choose how will respond to those challenges. Our response can determine the outcome of many more tomorrows; our tomorrows and the tomorrows of our children and our children’s children.

It is natural to seek to ease our pain, but we must be cautious for the most immediate answers are seldom the permanent solutions; “THERE IS A WAY THAT SEEMS RIGHT TO A MAN, BUT THE END THEREOF ARE THE WAYS OF DEATH. PROVERBS 16:25

Hear the voice of Jesus, “COME TO ME, ALL YOU WHO LABOR AND ARE BURDENED DOWN, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST. MATTHEW 11:28

The carnal man excuses his sin until it has grown and overtaken him and destroyed the blessings of God in His life. The spiritual man avoids even “THE APPEARANCE OF EVIL” that God might shine forth and strengthen his life for the difficult days ahead. Amen!

2009-07-24T05:24:00.000-07:00

I have learned that there are two types of churches;

The Church where’s the Pastor is honest; he believes he has the responsibility to lead the church

And the Church where the Pastor believes the same,
but uses politics to make others believe that they are in charge; as he secretly leads the church

The abusive church that grows through manipulation and domination

And the nurturing church that may or may not grow,
but people are genuinely loved

The church with lots of programs and planned activities called ministry

And the church that ministers as the needs are known

The Church where people all wear smiles
and “never” have problems and suffer alone

And the Church where real people face real problems of real life with the
support of their brothers and sisters in Christ and are never alone

The church where Saints never sin and are taught to pretend

And the Church that is aware that all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God; where rather than pretend, they are perfected

The church that says all are welcome,
but they only expect their own kind

And the church where all are welcome
and “ALL” are their own kind

The church that uses people to acquire things and build buildings

And the church that uses things to reach and build people

The first type of church is built upon services that feel good

The second is a church of service that does good

Perhaps your experience has been different,
but after half a century this is what I’ve seen.