Pastor's Pen

HAPPY HOLYDAY

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 22:21:00 GMT

HAPPY HOLYDAY

As I sat down to write this article, I couldn’t help but think how ironic it is that the Christmas season which should be a time of peace and joy seems so often to be anything but that. I’m not quite sure why that is. But it is all too often like that. The first Christmas was no different. The trip to Bethlehem had to be stressful. Not finding a room when Mary was about to give birth was certainly even more so. Getting dumped in a stable probably was off the charts, but God always knows best. On that cold dark night when everything seemed to be going wrong, God actually provided the perfect spot, away from the drunken tumult of an overcrowded inn. It was the perfect spot to give birth in privacy, the perfect spot to receive the outcast shepherds. It was--the perfect spot for God’s son to be born.

So often we grumble and complain and look at the world through pessimistic eyes forgetting all too often that yes, God is still in charge. If we’ll just stop rushing around and start trusting Him we’ll find that in the midst of the hustle and bustle of this season, in the midst of the financial turmoil and civic unrest, in the midst of threats of all sorts both at home and abroad, God has not abdicated his position. He is still God and He is still Emmanuel – God with us. How important it is that we let go of our fears and frustration and let God work.

While I still insist at this time of year on saying ‘Merry Christmas’ because I think it is important to let folks know that we are believers, I’m not convinced that the “Seasons Greetings” bit is all that bad a thing. I say that because there is no doubt in my mind that the ‘commercial Christmas’ has become far too important and I think it is actually a good thing to separate the ‘commercial Christmas’ from the real thing. Let people have their winter festival of lights, their season’s greetings, their lights and tinsel and gift exchanges and let’s get back to identifying Christmas with Emmanuel, God becoming man. Let’s refocus for our definition of the word Christmas on the Philippians description of God humbling Himself even to dying on the cross for us. Let us in turn humble ourselves with the true servant spirit and let us praise God at this Christmas time for the great work He has done in and through us.

A new expression has recently come into our vocabulary—Tebowing. It refers first to Tim Tebow’s act of publicly kneeling in prayer during and after games. It has taken on a secondary meaning of mocking Tebow for that act. When asked by Bill O’Reilly recently if he thought that God really cared about who won a game between the Broncos and another team his answer was: “You misunderstand what I’m doing, I’m not asking God to help me win and I’m not thanking Him for helping me to win, I’m praising and glorifying God for the gifts he has given me. That, of course, is what we should be doing at this time, praising God for THE GIFT He has given us. As we come up to Christmas my prayer is that that is just what our church will be first and foremost doing—praising God for THE GIFT He has given us, and for the gifts he has given us.

In the midst of deadlines and committee meetings and roof leaks and pipe leaks and mishaps and upset people and obstacles of all sorts that could easily distract us from the true message of Christmas I praise God that our distractions are not his distractions He is still there and He is working and lives are being changed. We are many times forced to bear great burdens. There are friends and loved ones who are far from the Lord. There are folks who are seriously ill. There are those among us who are out of work and threatened by financial crisis. Many times as we look through our human eyes things seem bleak. The threat of terrorism, or even the Mayan calendar’s apocalyptic prediction of the end of the world may seem threatening and frightening to some. But the wonderful message that comes to us this December 25th HOLYDAY is that as we head into the New Year we do so with the realization that God is still here, He is still working and He is still in control. And no one, nothing, not even the gates of Hell will prevail against Him. Praise His Name.

More ...

MYOPIC PRAYER

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 22:12:00 GMT

What is it that really motivates us to pray? What do we pray for? Jonathan Graf in an article in Alliance Life made the following statement: “Somewhere along the line churches have lost sight of what they should be praying for. Today, most congregations’ prayers are almost exclusively for needs within the Body–that each person’s life will get back to normal. Seldom do believers cry out for the fullness of Jesus Christ to come upon the Body; for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on a church....

DREAMING GREAT DREAMS! ACCOMPLISHING GREAT TASKS!

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:08:00 GMT

A number of years ago at the leadership conference that we attended in Portsmouth, NH; Bill Hybels made an impassioned plea for the power of clarity. Among the points he made were: Get the message clear, Get the message out, and Take risks, Experiment, and Fail

SMOKE SCREENS

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:06:00 GMT

A smoke screen by definition is a mass of dense artificial smoke used to conceal military areas or operations from an enemy. However, a figurative sense has come from that usage to indicate an action or a statement used to conceal actual plans or intentions. I’m sure we have all had dealings with people who used smoke screens to conceal their real feelings and it is not at all impossible that we have thrown up a few smoke screens ourselves from time to time.

AM I REALLY SELF-SUFFICIENT?

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:04:00 GMT

Have you ever wondered if God recognizes you, when he sees you? That maybe your life is not as consistent or as godly as it used to be? Have you ever done something and when it was over thought “that’s not me” or “I don’t know why I did that.” Do you feel like you are the exact person God wants you to be? What can you do about it?

BEWARE OF THE TERRIBLE TOO(S)

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 15:02:00 GMT

BEWARE OF THE TERRIBLE TOO(S)

The story is told of two old friends who bumped into one another on the street one day. One of them looked forlorn, almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, "What has the world done to you, my old friend?" The sad fellow said, "Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, an uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars." "That’s a lot of money." "But, two weeks ago, a cousin I never even knew died, and left me eighty-five thousand free and clear." "Sounds like you’ve been blessed...." "You don’t understand!" he interrupted. "Last week my great-aunt passed away. I inherited almost a quarter of a million." Now the friend was really confused. "Then, why do you look so glum?" "This week... nothing!"

This anecdote is so typical of human nature. So why is it that we are never satisfied? Where are our priorities? What is the most important thing to us? Paul Tillich, a twentieth-century American theologian, says that whatever our highest priority is, that priority will function as a god for us. He calls it our "ultimate concern". Whatever is our ultimate concern, that is our top priority. That is what functions like a god, whether we outwardly worship it or not. No matter what we say is most important, it is the thing that concerns us most which functions as a god for us. So what is our ultimate concern? Is it our family? Our church? Our job? Our wallet or our pocketbook? What is our ultimate concern? Do we know? Do we want to admit how unimportant the Lord may have become in our lives.

We are all aware how difficult our cute little kids can be when they reach two years old. There is a good reason why that age is referred to as the terrible twos. Kids at that age begin to discover the world around them, and at the same time they think that the world should revolve around them. That makes for trouble. The church also has a problem with the terrible too(s). However, it is not two--t-w-o, it is too—t-o-o. Even though we are reminded in THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE that “it’s not about you,” we really don’t seem to believe that. All too often it is about us. That’s where the ‘toos’ come in. From our standpoint things are too long, too short, too load, too quiet, too big, too small, too early, too late. Those are the terrible toos. We are far too often tempted to live as if we are the center of the universe, but we are really only a small part of all that God has made. While we may not be the center of the universe, it is also true that God nevertheless cares for us immensely. Among the billions of beings that have ever existed, all of those that man keeps count of only with a number, He knows us and cares about what happens to us? If you doubt that you are on His mind, let me remind you of Jesus’ words: Matthew 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. So rather than grumbling, how about trusting Him? Have we gone through the past month or even the past year with grumbling in our spirit or is there a song of thanks in our heart to God? I am not talking about working up a feeling that is not there- I am asking, are we responding to God’s grace in our lives with joyful thanks, not just for the material blessings that He has showered us all with, but are our hearts full of thanks for the great gift of salvation through Jesus Christ? If God had not given us one single blessing this year, could our eyes still brim with tears, and our hearts still leap for joy at knowing that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Lord? Is our spirit singing a song of thankful praise to the Redeemer of our soul? As the apostle Paul said in Philippians 4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

I think the time has come to pronounce a fast. Slow down a minute. Before you tell me you’re diabetic and can’t fast, let me say that I am not speaking of a fast from eating, but rather I am proposing a fast from grumbling. I must admit that it has been a while since I have consciously done this myself. But I have done it before and have always been amazed at how many times I caught myself grumbling—even if it was just grumbling about grumblers. I must confess that it was amazing the difference it made in my life when I replaced the grumble with a word of thanksgiving and gratitude.

I found that as I renewed my mind and began thinking on the right things, God was able to change my perspective on the circumstances of my life. I found that to grumble was to not trust God. We need to learn to rejoice in the Lord! As we rejoice in the Lord we will learn to respond to life with gentleness. As we rejoice in the Lord we will learn not to leave a place on our hearts for fear and worry. As we rejoice in the Lord we will think the right thoughts. As we rejoice in the Lord thanksgiving will replace grumbling and our hearts will overflow with the peace of God.

I would encourage you too, to escape the terrible too(s) by taking up this fast. The next time that you realize a word of criticism is escaping from your lips try replacing it with a word of thanks. The next time that someone tries to share a word of criticism with you simply respond: “I’m sorry I can’t listen to you now, I’m too busy ‘fasting’ in the presence of God.”

More ...

FRIENDS, FRIENDS AND MORE FRIENDS

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 00:57:00 GMT

We have had a number of special programs this summer, among them our annual Friend Day which was held at the Stephens Brook School. We also had our VBS program and the VBS closing program on a Sunday morning. Following that was the very special evening with Robert Rogers. How wonderful it was to see the sanctuary packed out on a Sunday evening. Then came the second visit of Sue Thomas the deaf former FBI agent. She has a way of blessing us every time she comes. We now look forward to another “Friend Day.” On Sunday October 3, at our 9:00 AM service Ernie Couch and Revival will be ministering to us.

AMAZING G.R.A.C.E.

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:57:00 GMT

“LORD YOU REALLY BLEW IT”

Thu, 27 May 2010 23:39:00 GMT

Did you ever feel like you could handle things better than God? I have. One day God showed me that he actually does know better than I what He is doing.

SUE THOMAS F. B. EYE

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:39:00 GMT

On Sunday May 16 we will have the wonderful privilege of having as our special guest speaker for the morning service Sue Thomas the former F.B.I. agent.