Lights that shine

     I was reading in the news today about traffic lights that were causing accidents and even the death of some drivers.  How can that be you might ask?  Well as you know the world is moving to be more environmentally friendly.  As a result many communities have switched to LED bulbs in their traffic lights because they use 90 percent less energy than the old incandescent variety, last far longer and save money.  Their great advantage is also their drawback: They do not waste energy by producing heat.

     The result is the bulbs do not burn hot enough to melt snow and can become crusted over in a storm.  When this occurs the people cannot distinguish if a light is red or a light is green.  Obviously the law states that if a traffic light is obstructed that the light is to be treated as a stop sign.  However, you and I both know that sometimes people do not follow the simple rules. 

As a result workers have to get out in the cold to remove the snow and ice from the traffic lights.  Though other options are being considered, such as installing shields or heaters on the lights, people are still having to look at lights that are not functioning as they were intended to function.  A light is suppose to give light.  A light is suppose to provide guidance and direction to those that are looking at it or using it.  A light that does not function as a light is not much use to anyone.

Sometimes we are our own worse enemies.  In our efforts to please everyone and try to be sensitive to those around us we make decisions that affect our ability to function as we should.  I am sure the desire to use the LED lights is well meaning, but people have died because of these new lights.  They save energy, they have a longer life and they require less maintenance, but they cause accidents and even death.

     I could not help but see a spiritual equivalent with this story.  Jesus said that we are the light of the world.  He did not say we might be or that we have the capability of being a light, He said we are the light of the world.  Because we are the light of the world we are not to conceal our light, but to let our light shine so that they may see our good works and glorify our father in heaven.  Yet I am afraid that many of us are like the new LED lights and often times do not function the way we should function.

     Perhaps in our efforts to be accepted by others and be friendlier we don't shine like we should.  We might offend someone, so we don't shine.  Perhaps when things get difficult and the pressures of life are all around us we do not shine like we are intended to shine.   We are suppose to shine in the midst of the darkness.  We are suppose to point people in the right direction when things are difficult.  We are suppose to provide guidance and instruction in the midst of the chaos and confusion that is so obvious all around us.  

   The result is that people can't find their way.  People become confused and disoriented in the direction they are to go.  They don't know where to go or even how to get there.  There are some that might even die as a result that we are not shining as we should.  A light is suppose to provide light!

    How are you doing?  Are you bearing light in a world that needs light?  It is my hope and prayer that you will shine forth and show people the Way.  In the words of the old children's song "This little light of mine I am going to let it shine."  Don't hide but shine so that others can find the Way. 

Being prepared

     We have had a mini blizzard hit our area and I have experienced my first sub zero temperature.  The reading yesterday was 0 degrees, but the wind chill was said to be -20 degrees.  Being from the South, I have never experienced it being this cold. 

     Everyone has been concerned about us and asking if we are surviving the weather okay.  The Pastor Search Committee asked if I was thinking about reconsidering now that the cold has arrived.  I understand now why they do not consider a pastor until the Spring and summer.  Only kidding!!

     However, it has not been as bad as I envisioned.  The key for survival in the cold is having the proper attire.  I cannot dress the same as I always dressed and be prepared for the colder weather.  I need to wear a heavy coat.  Fortunately right now I think I have a heavy enough coat.  Yet even a coat is not sufficient to keep every part of you warm.  I also need to wear my gloves as putting my hands in my pockets does not seem to do the trick.  I also need to wear my muffler around my neck.  I have a really nice one that someone made me that does the trick.  Although I have not yet donned the cap, soon I will be wearing the cap to go with my winter attire.  The key is to be prepared for the colder temperature.

     Of course I try to limit my time outside as well.  I get in my car in the garage, take the kids to school, go to the office at the church and park as close to the door as I can.  It is fairly easy since I am the only one there so I get a primo parking spot.  I am fairly well prepared for the few seconds it takes me to walk to the door of the church.  The reason I can survive is that I am bundled up and prepared for the cold.  I hear it will get colder and I might have to make some adjustments.  Maybe the kids could walk to school and I could work from the house.  Somehow I don't think the kids would go for that!

     Whatever the case, the key is being prepared.  It is kind of like what Paul said about being prepared to battle everyday.  Paul said that we are in a battle with spiritual elements in the world.  We cannot see them, but they are there doing their best to bring us down and to damage the cause of Christ in the world.  That is why Paul tells us to put on the whole armor of God so that we can stand firm against the attacks of the devil. 

     In order to survive the winter weather in Chicagoland, we must put on the whole attire.  Imagine going out in sub zero weather in short pants and a Hawaiian shirt.  We would not get very far before the the winter weather would begin to affect us.  Eventually we would freeze to death.  It is the same way when every morning we go out into the world without preparing ourselves for spiritual battle.  If we are unprepared it might kill us.

    So read your Bible every morning.  Say your prayers.  Be prepared for the battle that you will face each day.  You can't stay inside and you can't move South in this battle.  You are in it for the duration so you better be prepared. 

Whiter than snow

     The first snow has finally made it's way to Illinois.  Not a big deal to my Illinois friends, but to this Texan it is a sight to see.  I have seen snow before, but normally in Texas it will dry up fairly quick once the temperature hits 70 by mid morning.  Anyway it is beautiful to see the white snow covering the ground. 

     My dogs are having a hard time knowing what to do with the snow.  When the first snow came and my Lab Toby needed to do his business, he did not know what to do.  As he ran out in the snow to find his familiar location he was confused.  Suddenly the scent had changed and the markings had changed as well.  He sniffed and circled, but could not find a spot to go.  Finally, nature won out and he was able to take care of his business.  My chihuahua, not that is a different story.  I want take time to talk about her on this blog.

     Seeing Toby walk in the snow and struggle with his old markings reminded me of something in the Scripture.  I know what you are thinking, what kind of warp mind do I have, that a dog doing his business in the snow would lead me to a spiritual truth.

     After David had committed his terrible sins he cried out to God to forgive him his transgressions.  In Psalm 51:7 David cries out "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow."  David desired that God would wipe the slate clean and he would once again be clean.

     That is what God does when we ask God to forgive us of our sins.  He washes us whiter than snow.  When we go to look back for the traces of our sinfulness, it is no longer there.  We can sniff and circle and scratch all we want, but our sins have been washed whiter than snow.  It is a wonderful concept when you consider the filth of our own sins and how much God has to wash away.  Why not use David's prayer as your prayer and ask God to wash you and make you whiter than snow.  Read his words again:

1 Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your unfailing love;

according to your great compassion

blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is always before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you are proved right when you speak

and justified when you judge.

5 Surely I was sinful at birth,

sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;

you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins

and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence

or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation

and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

May God richly bless you and make you whiter than snow.  And may you experience the amazing grace of knowing that your sins have been removed. 

Bragging on Kinsey

     It is official, Kinsey Elizabeth Robertson is here.  I am now a grandfather.  I don't know much about being a grandfather.  I have never been one before.  I am not sure that I know what I am supposed to do or how I am to behave.  I am suppose to be wiser than all other people, because every one knows that grandfathers are the wisest of the wise.  I will have to work on that wisdom stuff, but the good news is to Kinsey I will be wise, because she want know any better.

     One thing I know for sure is that grandfathers are supposed to do is brag on their grandchildren.  So let me tell you that she is beautiful.  But don't take my word for it you can see for yourself.  Here is a picture of my grandaughter.  She might be calling out for her grandpaw in that picture.  Didn't I tell you she was beautiful.  You can trust me I am a pastor.

    Do they give classes on how to be a grandfather?  How am I suppose to be able to do all the things that grandfathers do if I do not know what grandfathers do?  I think it is a big job that grandfathers have and it should never be taken lightly.  Maybe there is a book around that is entitled "How to be a Wonderful Grandfather."  Even the name is a challenge to live up to.  I am not just a father, I am a grand father, which means better than a father.  WOW, I am not sure I am up to the task.  Kinsey deserves the best that I can give her as her grandfather.  I certainly do not want to let her down because she is depending on me to brag on her and to talk about her and to show everyone pictures of her.  I can definitely do that as here is another picture of my beautiful granddaughter.

I like this picture!  She looks so peaceful!  She doesn't even know that I am her grandfather.  Perhaps that is why she is so peaceful.  She does not know the tremendous amount of pressure that is being placed on me to be a granddad.  I hope I can live up to the hype!

But  you know I think she is worth it.  She is my grandaughter.  And even though I have only seen pictures of her and have not had the chance to hold her in my arms she already has a special place in my heart.  I am lucky to be a grandparent and I want everyone to know about my beautiful Kinsey. 

Speaking of someone who is proud, look at Kinsey's grandmother.  There is no way that she can be a grandmother.  She looks like she is the mother of Kinsey.  But that is another post.  I think she has read the book or something.  She looks like a natural to me.  Perhaps she can give me some pointers when she gets back to Illinois.

One thing I know that I am suppose to do is tell everyone I know about Kinsey.  The truth is that we talk about those we love most.  I don't have to read a book or take a class to know how to be a grandparent.  It should be something that is natural to me because of my love for my granddaughter.  I am excited about her and love her with all my heart. 

I think there is a spiritual truth for us to apply to our lives as well.  We brag about people we love!  As a matter of fact we probably can't shut up about it.  They have such an important part in our lives that we want everyone to know how much we love them. 

Do you feel that way about Jesus?  You don't have to be trained to tell others about Jesus.  You don't have to read books to be able to tell others about Jesus.  And neither do you have to  watch others to learn how to tell others about Jesus.  In the words of Nike, "Just do it."  It is kind of like being a grandparent.  No training involved, just brag and tell others about Jesus.  Talking about Jesus to others should be as natural as talking about our children or our grandchildren. 

By the way did I mention that I have a granddaughter?   Her name is Kinsey!

Christmas Gifts

      The lights are on the house, the Christmas tree is decorated (even with lights that don't work) and the house is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  The only thinking missing is the smell of Christmas cookies coming from the kitchen.  In our family, it has always been a tradition to make Grandma's Christmas cookies.  The cookies are always a big hit as they are shaped like Santa Claus, and Christmas Trees and stars and Gingerbread men.  They are just your normal sugar cookie, but they were Grandma's sugar cookies.  Perhaps when my wife gets back from California, she will fill the house with the smell of baked cookies.  Or maybe Abbie and I will get adventuresome and make them ourselves, but that is another post.

      Christmas is a wonderful time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I mean the whole season is named after Him, so it seems pretty important to have Him in the center of it.  Some people go to the extent to not even decorate for Christmas, or even celebrate it on the 25th.  They do not buy gifts for their family or friends.  The reasoning for their activities is that we do not buy gifts for other people on our birthday, so why do we buy gifts for other people on Jesus' birthday? 

     However, at the Worley household we do buy gifts for one another.  We have gifts under our tree even today.  We celebrate Christmas Eve with the opening of gifts from one another.  We take our time and open one gift at a time and watch each person open their gift.  It is not mass confusion, but a time of deliberate celebration of each gift that was given by love to that person.  It is just one small way that we demonstrate our love for one another. 

     On Christmas morning we wake up to see what the man in the red suit brought to us.  Yes, we celebrate Santa Claus at the Worley household.  He always brings something to put in our stockings.  Sometimes he places a pair of socks or some candy.  Sometimes he places things in them that are funny and fun and other times he places things in them that are practical and beneficial.  It is a great time as we sit around the living room, drinking coffee, laughing and giving hugs and kisses liberally.  In all the chaos and confusion that goes on in the world, it is nice just to sit down and enjoy this special time together.

     For some people when they hear that we actually mention Santa Claus in our Christmas they cringe with fear.  How could I as a pastor allow such an idea to creep into our celebration of the birth of Jesus?  I must not really understand what Christmas is all about?  Yet at the Worley household, Jesus remains the center of our Christmas.  Our children have known the truth of Christmas from day one.  We read the Christmas story every year.  We talk about Jesus at Christmas time and celebrate the many blessings He has given to us as a family.  Our house is full of special nativity scenes that we have purchased in a variety of countries.  Some were very expensive and others were very inexpensive. 

     One year we purchased a nativity scene to place under our tree and it became the favorite object for our little ones to play with at Christmas time.  It was wonderful to watch our children play with the nativity set and watch them retell the story in their playing.  I know that it warmed God's heart to watch his little ones reliving the story of our Lord's birth.  Christmas is about Christ and without Him their would be no Christmas.  As a matter of fact without Jesus, how could we really have a happy holiday.  If there had been no Jesus, there could be no salvation.  What's happy about that?

     Perhaps you do not celebrate Christmas in your house the way we celebrate at our house.  You might not give gifts or receive gifts.  You might not decorate or even celebrate the season.  You might be a bah humbug type of guy.  But I love Christmas and the the tremendous blessings God has given to me as a person.  He demonstrated His love for me by sending Jesus to provide salvation for me.  He has blessed me with a wonderful family and many friends in which I can demonstrate my love for them.  At Christmas time we celebrate faith, we celebrate family and we celebrate friends.  I look forward to celebrating with you in the weeks that come.  I pray God will bless you this Christmas season.

Let there be light!

     It is that time of year when we start decorating for the Christmas season.  Even though decorating the house and the Christmas tree are something my family and I enjoy doing, it is not without its moments of stress.  It seems like every year I have a problem with the lights that I purchased.  This year was no exception.  Because we have had so many problems with the light on our Christmas tree last year we purchased a tree that came with the lights.  My brother in law has had a lighted Christmas tree for years and never had any trouble with his, so we were optimistic that we would have no trouble as well.  Of course I forgot that this was our tree and not his tree.  As I worked to get the tree put together and the limbs arranged just right I noticed some of the lights were burned out.  The burned out lights were all in one section and it was obvious from looking at the tree that lights were missing.  I quickly discovered that one of the strands of lights were not connected and plugged the light into the outlet.  There was light!  I was happy that I was able to solve the lightless problem.

      However, I then discovered another section that was not burning and this problem was not as easy to resolve.  In fact as I examined the lights I discovered that there was a short somewhere, but I could not fix the problem.  Sometimes the lights would flicker and sometimes they would not.  I decided that it was not worth the stress to try and fix the problem.  The tree looked okay without this particular strand of lights. 

     My next project was to string the lights on the house.  We had lights left over from last year that when we took them down they were working fine.  Yet when we went to put the strands up, one of the strands refused to work.  We needed more lights so we purchased some new ones so that we could have adequate lights around house.  The other strand, we wound up throwing in the trash. 

     We are such a throw away society.  Years ago when we strung lights, if one light went out, you just replaced the bulb.  It was easy to locate the burned out light and it was easy to replace.  You just unscrewed the light and screwed in another one.  Yet, today if one light burns out it will cause the entire section to burn out as well.  It is not easy to find the burned out light and often times impossible.  As a result, we just throw them out and purchase lights after Christmas that are on sale.  We will be ready for next year and of course then we go through the whole thing again.

     It is very frustrating because the thing about lights is that they are supposed to work and give light.  Most people think that the Christmas lights make such beautiful decorations, but they actually have a greater purpose.  The lights of the Christmas tree symbolize two things.  First they represent the light of the world, which is Jesus Christ.  Second, the lights represent our responsibility to be a light to the world.  We are to shine like a light as we give testimony to the Light of the World.

     Unfortunately most of us are like the lights on my Christmas tree.  We often do not work.  Jesus said that we are the light of the world and that we are to let our light shine before men.  However, many of us are not putting forth much light or are not shining at all.  I wonder if when Jesus comes to us He becomes frustrated with His lights?  Does He look down from heaven above and see lights that should be shining, only to discover that they are not shining? 

     I am glad that Jesus is not like me.  I throw aways lights that do not burn.  Jesus patiently works with the light to help it shine forth like it is intended to shine.  Jesus comes to each one of us and says "let there be light."  Are you shining for Him this Christmas season?  Let your light shine before men so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.  Why not this Christmas season we choose to leave the light on for Him.

A good cup of coffee

      This morning I had a great visit with a good friend and enjoyed a great cup of coffee.  I enjoy coffee.  I have been a coffee drinker for a long time and enjoy all brands of coffee.  I believe my favorite coffee is Cafe Britt from Costa Rica.  This coffee is grown in the volcanic mountains of Costa Rica, which people say provides the richest coffee.  However, the coffee we enjoy so much is not an easy process to make.

      The processing of coffee requires a lot of labor and long hours.  The majority of people are probably not even aware of the process.  Coffee starts out as what is called the cherry.  The coffee bean is actually concealed inside a red cherry fruit.  No, you can't eat the cherry!  Most coffee is hand picked by harvesters who make anywhere from $2 to $10 a basket.  An average cherry picker and pick about 6 baskets a day. 

     Once the cherries are picked, they are placed in a vat for washing.  The ripe cherries sink to the bottom and the bad cherries float to the top and are discarded.  The purpose of the washing is to remove the outer red shell from the coffee bean.  After the initial washing stage there will still be remnants of the shell remaining on the bean, for which an additional stage of washing is required.

     After this second washing, the beans must be dried, which enables the remaining pulp to be removed by raking or by machine.  The next process is calling hulling where the fine parchment is removed from the bean to reveal what is called the silver skin.  The silver skin is then removed from the bean in the polishing phase.

      Most of this process takes place over days and requires constant care to get to the actual bean.  After the beans have been through the process, they must be sorted and allowed to age.  Most coffee makers agree that beans begin to lose there flavor after 1 year.  However, the process is not through, because a coffee bean by itself is not much use.  You can put chocolate on a coffee bean and it is pretty good, but that is not the intent of a coffee bean.  The beans are at their best when they have been ground together and mixed with other beans so that they can be enjoyed.

     I know you are probably asking, "what is the point?"  There is a point if you will hang with me a little longer.  I am talking about coffee.  Who was the first person to ever discover the process for coffee?  How did they know that if they would go through this entire process they could enjoy a great cup of coffee?   It is kind of like the mushroom.  Who determined that one mushroom would be great to eat and the another one would kill you?  Probably some guys brother figured that out!  But that is another post.

      The point is that many of the things we enjoy in life happen over a long process.  A cup of coffee does not just happen.  There is a process that takes place so that we can enjoy a good cup of coffee.  It is much like the spiritual life.  We do not just wake up one day and discover that we are dynamic followers of Jesus Christ.  Most believers have been shaped through a long process called life.  Our experiences help shape who we are today.  We have been washed and we have had old habits peeled away from our lives.  We have been processed through many different stages of life.  Some of the processes have hurt and have been difficult, but they were necessary to refine us.  God used these processes to shape us into His image.

      One other thing that needs to be mentioned in this process.  Just as a coffee bean is of little use by itself, the Christian is of little use by himself.  The Christian was intentionally designed to be placed with other Christians to produce a sweet aroma to God.  It is only as we have been through the grinder and mixed with other believers that we give off a wonderful aroma that is pleasing to God.  I once preached a sermon entitled How to Survive the Daily Grind of Life.  Life is a grind, but if you will join with others who are going through the grind as well, you will be a blessing to others who will then enjoy the wonderful aroma that comes from you.  I really enjoy coffee!   But what I really enjoy is the aroma of believers worshipping, serving and fellowshipping together.   Paul said "for we are to God the aroma of Christ."  What a great thought!  Here's to you my fellow coffee bean!
     

Serving others

      It has been a few weeks since I have written anything on my blog as I have been extremely busy doing some other type of writing.  I hope in a few weeks to be able to share with you what I have been writing, but there are still some things that need to be done first.

     This morning I would like to share about serving others.  Often times in the craziness of life we are so busy that we do not stop long enough to see if there might be someone that needs our help.  Two weeks ago one of the widows in our church had a sewer line break and flood her basement.  It was not a pretty sight.  We got word of the need and on a Saturday morning a group of us men, about 7 of us, showed up to look at the damage and as we dug up the line we discovered it was beyond our ability to repair.  However, one of our men called his plumber friend and the next day he met him there at 7:30 and they were able to repair the line so that it would not continue flooding into the basement.  This good brother also paid the cost to the plumber.  What a great blessing his ministry was to this sweet lady.

     However, our work was not done.  We knew that we had to clean her basement out and do some other repairs as well.  Our association of churches has a disaster relief trailer and coordinator that lives about a mile from this dear woman.  We made arrangements with him to meet on the next Saturday and clean out the basement and disinfect the basement as well.  On that Saturday, 16 of us showed up to clear everything out of the basement, scrub some floors, and everything else that needed to be done.  Not only did we clean the basement, but we cleaned her garage and helped her in the house as well.  Others of us, fixed some plumbing problems in the house as well as a washer that needed some work.  We were able to be the body of Christ to our sister in Christ.

      She allowed us to be a blessing to her and in return we were blessed as well.  Serving others is one of the best ways we can demonstrate the love of Christ to others.  Scripture states that God demonstrated his love for us.  This passage tells me that love is an action verb.  Love is something we do, not something we sit around and talk about.  We demonstrated our love for her by our actions toward her.  We did so, not as an individual, but as a body of believers.  We were the church in action. 

     However, the story does not end here.  While we were ministering to our sister in Christ we met another lady who needed some help as well.  Her needs were entirely different.  She needed someone to love on her and care for her.  She is struggling financially and the difficulty is beginning to overwhelm her and her young son.  We helped her, prayed with her, ministered to her and told her about Jesus.  On Sunday morning she and her young son worshipped with us.  What a blessing it was to see her sitting there on Sunday Morning. 

     I do not want you to get the wrong impression about Lynwood Baptist Church.  This event was not a one time event for us, but it is a part of our DNA.  We are a body who strives to serve others.  We involve ourselves in the lives of other people.  Though we are small in numbers we have a big heart for people.  I am fortunate to be pastor of this body of believers.

     God has great things in store for Lynwood.  He is moving in the lives of people and we are excited about what the future holds.  If you are reading this blog and are not a member of Lynwood, you might want to check us out.  We are here to encourage you and minister to you with the love of Christ.  We don't have all the answers and we do not claim to know everything, but we love God and we love people.  If that sounds like you, then come serve alongside us as we strive to make a difference in the place where God has planted us.  Hope to see you soon so we can worship and serve our Lord together.  Like I always tell the members, we are blessed to be a blessing.  Go out and bless someone today.  Talk to you later. 

prayer meetings

     As I write this post I am at the Illinois Baptist State Association annual convention.  I also attended the pastor's conference before the convention started.  Don't you know there was a lot of hot air in that meeting!  It has been a while since I have been in such meetings and it was good to meet some of my fellow pastors and to hear their stories. 

     The theme of this year's pastor's conference was "prepare the way of the Lord."  The idea is that if we want to see revival in our lives, churches and country we must prepare the way of the Lord.  We talked about prayer, we talked about God's judgment and God's mercy. 

     One of the speakers talked about prayer and made the statement that we pray good, but we don't pray good enough.  These words struck me as I thought about prayer in my own life and even in the life of many churches.  He furthermore stated "If God answered all the prayers we pray in our prayer meetings will it cause our community to stand up and take notice.  Will it cause our nation to take notice?  Will it cause the nations to take notice?" 

      His point was that most of what we pray for is selfish and in reality do not have much impact on eternity.  We need to learn to pray differently and with increased passion.  One of the templates laid out for us to change our philosophy of prayer is to model our prayer after what Jesus prayed in John 17:1-5.  The basic idea of this prayer is that Jesus had a task that His Father had for him to do.  Jesus prayed "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do."   We too have been given a task.  God has called us to do something for him, but too often our prayers do not reflect this task.

      Our speaker suggested our motives for praying had to change if we were going to experience the outpouring of God's spirit in our lives and churches.  He was not against praying for healing or help with a particular problem, but we need to make sure that it is in accordance with the task that God gave us to do.

     He suggested that our prayers become "so that" prayers.  Here is what a "so that" prayer would look like.  Your prayer would look something like this: "Lord please bring healing to my body, so that I can complete the work you gave me to do."  Or perhaps you would pray, "Lord please help me with this struggle (insert your struggle here) so that I can complete the work you gave me to do."   In my case I would pray "Lord please sell my house, so that I can complete the work you gave me to do."

     With a so that prayer, the focus has changed from our own selfish desires, to lining up our desires with the Lord's desire for us.  It changes our perspective and our focus is back where it needs to be in the first place.  If we are honest, we often forget what God has for us to do when we are going through a difficult time or struggle in our own lives.   We should pray so that God will be glorified when He answers our prayers.

     I wanted to share these thoughts with you, so that you could think differently about your own prayers.  It is not so that I can dazzle you with my brilliance, but so that God may recieve the honor.  It truly is my heart's desire that someone will be ministered to through these words, but also through this blog.  I hardly ever have anything profound to say, but if just one person is encouraged I believe that I have accomplished one thing that God has asked me to do and that is to be an encourager.  I pray that you have been encouraged so that you can complete the work God has for you to do. 

The power of prayer

     Never underestimate the power of prayer.  There are times that we pray for something and it never seems that God hears our prayers.  I want to submit the following story that was sent to us by my sister in law in Texas.  It was an encouragement to us to keep on praying and do not lose hope.

Planned Parenthood has been a part of Abby Johnson's life for the past eight years; that is until last month, when Abby resigned. Johnson said she realized she wanted to leave, after watching an ultrasound of an abortion procedure.  "I just thought I can't do this anymore, and it was just like a flash that hit me and I thought that's it," said Jonhson.   She handed in her resignation October 6. Johnson worked as the Bryan Planned Parenthood Director for two years.


According to Johnson, the non-profit was struggling under the weight of a tough economy, and changing it's business model from one that pushed prevention, to one that focused on abortion.   "It seemed like maybe that's not what a lot of people were believing any more because that's not where the money was. The money wasn't in family planning, the money wasn't in prevention, the money was in abortion and so I had a problem with that," said Johnson.


Johnson said she was told to bring in more women who wanted abortions, something the Episcopalian church goer recently became convicted about.  "I feel so pure in heart (since leaving). I don't have this guilt, I don't have this burden on me anymore that's how I know this conversion was a spiritual conversion."


Johnson now supports the Coalition For Life, the pro-life group with a building down the street from Planned Parenthood. Coalition volunteers can regularly be seen praying on the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood. Johnson has been meeting with the coalition's executive director, Shawn Carney, and has prayed with volunteers outside Planned Parenthood.


On Friday both Johnson and the Coalition For Life were issued temporary restraining orders filed by Planned Parenthood.  Rochelle Tafolla, a Planned Parenthood spokesperson issued the following statement: "We regret being forced to turn to the courts to protect the safety and confidentiality of our clients and staff, however, in this instance it is absolutely necessary."


The temporary restraining order contends that Planned Parenthood would be irreparably harmed by the disclosure of certain information, but does not bar Johnson or Coalition For Life volunteers from the premises.  As of Sunday evening, neither Johnson nor Carney had seen the complaint filed against them that prompted the restraining order.   A hearing about the order has been set for November 10.

Here is the video link to this story http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/68441827.html

We should never stop praying, even when it seems that our prayers are not being answered.  We never know what God is doing behind the scenes.  We need to pray now that the information this young lady has on the inner workings of Planned Parenthood can become public.  I hope you were as encouraged by this story as I was.  Keep praying!  Don't give up!  And never lose hope!  Prayer is indeed powerful!

Church attendance

     As a pastor I am always concerned about church attendance.  It worries me when attendance is low or sporadic.  You  know what I mean, one Sunday you will have a 100 and the next Sunday you will have 70 and it keeps bouncing back and forth.  In a smaller church it is much more prevalent, because if two or three families are out, you know who they are.  In a larger church, especially a mega church, you never miss several hundred because they alternate every Sunday as to who is out and who is in. 

     I admit that I want to see the church packed every Sunday morning and even Sunday evening.  I want to see people praising God and excited about their relationship with Him.  Yet it is not for the sake of numbers, but because you never know what you might miss if you don't show up.  Let me give you an example.

     Several years ago my family and I were serving as missionaries in Guatemala.  We worked with the inner city poor and we did our worship services in the afternoons at 4:00.  This time was the best time to reach the people in the places where we served.  One particular Sunday, we were tired and did not want to go to the service.  The people never showed up on time.  In Latin America, if you start something at 4:00 they do not show up until 4:30.  It was rainy season.  We knew they would be late.  We were tired and we said to ourselves "no one will mind if we don't show up today.  After all we might not even be able to get down the mountain."  Yet we knew that we did not have the proper attitude.  So we loaded up all our equipment, put the kids in our four wheel drive and went to the village.  As predicted, no one was there at 4:00.  In fact by 4:30 very few had arrived.  Finally, when we started at about 4:45 we had about 20 people there to worship and listen to what the missionary had to say. 

     I was preaching in Spanish, which was a challenge in itself.  When it was time for the invitation, I was ready to get out of there.  I knew that I had done a terrible job.  Probably no one understood me and we were all tired and disappointed.  However, right about the time I was ready to give up a little blond haired boy came forward crying saying he wanted to receive Jesus as his Savior.  That little boy was my son Jameson.  He did not even understand Spanish, but the Holy Spirit had so embraced his heart that he could not hold back what God wanted him to do.  We prayed and he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior that day. 

     God taught me a valuable lesson that day.   If I had skipped out on my attendance that day, I would have missed what God was doing in my son's life.  If we all would have this same expectation when we attend church, we would never want to miss.  I know what  you are saying "but God doesn't move like that."  Or "I have never seen God stir a heart like that."  And of course I would say, it might be the day you choose to miss that God wanted to move in someone's life, maybe your child's or even your own.

     I believe that God shows up every Sunday as we worship and serve Him.  Sometimes it is dramatic, other times it is less dramatic.  My friend Manny always prayed "God show up today."  Then he would add "God show off as well."  I look forward to seeing God show off every Sunday.  Do you? 

     Is church attendance important?  It is essential, because God longs to reveal Himself to His people as we corporately worship and honor Him.  It is my prayer and my desire that you never skip out on worship because it might just be you that God wants to reveal Himself to.  Think about it.  It will change your perspective.  I hope to see YOU in church and watch GOD show off!!

    

Nice to be appreciated

      Last month was clergy appreciation month.  Many churches took time out to show appreciation to their pastor and staff by honoring them with a special day.  This celebration was not limited to one denomination, but was promoted by many different denominations.

      Lynwood Baptist Church went above and beyond the call of duty.  I have been in churches that have honored me as their pastor before and I have been in some churches that did not know such a day or month existed.  However, I have never been a part of a fellowship of believers that demonstrated their appreciation for their pastor more than Lynwood. 

     Every day of the month someone did something special for myself and my family.  We received cards and letters.  We received cups and certificates.  But most of all we received love and friendship.  We were made to feel that we were a part of something special by a body of believers that we love to call our family. 

     However, Lynwood does not need a special month to demonstrate how much they appreciate their pastor, they do it everyday in a variety of ways.  But here is the best news of all, they love to demonstrate this same type of appreciation for all people.  On a typical Sunday morning or evening it is not unusual to see people hanging out after the worship service talking and fellowshipping with one another.  They like to spend time with one another.  We do not need to plan a formal fellowship for them to spend time with one another, they are just naturally drawn to one another. 

      There is laughter and there are tears as they minister to one another.  Sometimes that ministry requires a listening ear or a warm embrace.  Other times the ministry entails words of encouragement and affirmation as well as a challenge to do better.  The thing about Lynwood is that we take seriously our Lord's call to love one another. 

     I am blessed to be the pastor of Lynwood Baptist Church.  If you are a member of this fellowship then I want you to know how much I love you and appreciate you.  If  you are not a member and live nearby I want to encourage you to check us out.  We are a simple laid back church trying to live out our faith in a complicated and confused world.  We do not admit to having all the answers and do not pretend to do so.  We are not perfect and to be honest there will be times that we will make a mistake.  We are real people, with real struggles, and not afraid to be real with people. 

      We also know that God is real and that He is more than capable of dealing with whatever problem or difficulty we may have.  Because God is real we try our best to live out His command to the best of our ability.  Our desire is to Love God, Love people and serve the world.  If you would love to be a part of a fellowship such as Lynwood, I invite you to come and be a part of the fellowship of excitement.  God is doing amazing things in our midst. 

     Though I appreciate the kindness and love that has been shown to my family, it means much more to me to see this fellowship of believers demonstrating the same type of love and kindness to others.  God has blessed us so that we can be a blessing.  I hope to see you some day at Lynwood Baptist Church so you can bless us and we can bless you. 

7 desires of people

     Yesterday I mentioned that 4 out of 5 people do not think the church is important for spiritual growth.  These numbers are alarming and should cause the church and church leaders to stand up and take notice.  We cannot continue to do church as usual if we are going to meet the expectations of the people around us. 

     Scott Appleby provides a good assessment of what people expect from a local church. Though much of these insights were about the role of the pastor, they are applicable to the local church as well.  After all no church is comprised of just a pastor.  Every church works together as a the body of Christ to minister to people in the community.  These seven insights are a tremendous help to the local church as they try to meet the rising needs of the community around them.

     First people desire a sense of belonging. People want to be more than a group that meets together or a collection of strangers, they want to be a family or a community of friends that share one another’s hurts and joys. The church needs to create this environment if it wants to meet this desire of the people.

     Second, people desires meaningful worship. This is the battleground that has been forged in many churches today. More than anything else, it is not a battle for doctrinal purity, but for worship in spirit and truth. The church should be able to provide authentic worship understanding the diversity that exists in the group.

     Third, people desire practical preaching or relevant preaching. This particular aspect has more to do with the pastor than the church body, but it could be applied to teachers as well. People want the word of God applied to their particular situation in life. The people expect the Word to speak to the issues of the day and help them to live a godly life in an ungodly world.

     Fourth, people desire relevant discipleship.  People desire discipleship that addresses particular areas of concern. They do not want programs for the sake of programs, but they desire something that is meaningful and practical for their lives.  In this day and age when time is so precious, people need to know that the ministry is going to be beneficial to their particular area of concern, whether that is parenting classes, financial planning, or how to take care of aging parents.  They want programs that minister to them where they are in their life stage.

     Fifth, people want to be involved in ministering to those in need.  This desire goes beyond giving to help the needy, this means personal involvement in meeting needs.  Appleby stated, “the sense of personal ownership of the charities of the church has declined.”  Perhaps the reason for this decline is because people want to put a face on ministry.

     Sixth, people desire consistent leadership especially in the realm of spiritual decisions.  Again much of this desire relates to the pastor it can be applied to all church leadership.  The pastor must be careful not to be an authoritarian while at the same time not giving too much leadership to others.  A pastor must learn to balance his leadership between these two extremes.

     Finally, the people desire a pastor that is accessible to them.  They do not want a pastor that is cooped up in the office and never available to the people.  What is true of the pastor is also true of the body of believers.  The church members need to be accessible to others.  This truth means that they are not Sunday only members, but are available to others. It means that we must be willing to get involved in their lives. 

    I will try to flesh these out in the next few days and demonstrate how these needs are not new.  Jesus confronted each one of these needs in his ministry and we can learn from his example.  Remember our desire is to reach out to the 4 out of 5 who no longer think the church is important for spiritual growth.  I hope you will tag along as we examine what Jesus did to minister to people.  He was relevant then and He is still relevant today.

Is church important for spiritual growth?

      This week I had a young lady and her 8 year old daughter show up at my house looking for some help.  It was not spiritual help she was looking for, but financial help.  As we talked very briefly about things I asked her if she went to church anywhere.  She told me she prayed and she read her Bible, but she did not attend church anywhere.  I have heard this story hundreds of times.  I talked to her about the reasons that she needed to be in a fellowship and she nodded her head in agreement, but I do not know what she will do with this information. 

     It is amazing how many people do not attend a church anywhere, but they always know to go to a church when they need assistance.  I have opinions on why this happens, but that is not the purpose of this post.  The purpose of this post is to ask is church important for spiritual growth?  You might be surprised how many people believe that it is not important.

     A study conducted by the Barna group in 2006 had some alarming news for the church: Less than 20 percent of American adults believe participation in a congregation is critical to spiritual growth, and just as few agree that participation in a church community will help them reach their full potential spiritually.


     Is this not a wake up call for church leaders everywhere to realize that traditional church alone as we've known it is not going to be the most successful model for reaching the lost?  Here is the struggle that we have as a church.

     The world, even when they are searching and longing for spiritual growth, isn't even looking to the church as a possibility for that growth.  According to this survey 4 out of 5 people do not view the church as a valuable source for spiritual growth.  The church has lost it's salt.  The church has ceased to be light.  80% just don't believe the church to be valuable to them except for maybe a wedding or a funeral (by which time it will be too late).

     Even those who attend the church have a diminished view of how the church can and will help them.  A growing percentage of those still involved in the church disagree that being a part of the church can help them reach their full spiritual potential.  Other studies reveal this same truth.  A growing number of Christians feel they are spiritually fit while not being involved in any local church.

     So what do we do as a church?  What do church leaders do?  Do we continue to do church as usual and reach out to the 1 out of 5 who say the church is relevant?  Or do we try something different?  I know I don't have very many answers.  And perhaps I just use this post to express my ideas (opinions) to an audience of one.  But I believe in the church.  I believe it is the most important institution on earth.  I know this truth because the Bible says that Christ died for His church.  The church is the bride of Christ. 

     Over the next several days I want to talk about some things I have gleaned from research and by experience (very little I may add) and see if we might find some truths that will help the church be relevant in this generation.  I hope that you will dialogue with me and perhaps as we combine our stories and our knowledge we will gain a better insight in to the church and the ministry of the church to this world in which God has placed us.  I hope to hear from you soon. 

Traveling in the dark

     Last night was visitation night for our fellowship.  For those of you that do not know what I am talking about when I mention visitation, let me tell you.  Visitation is where the church makes an intentional effort to visit people in the community.  Some of them have visited the church and others have not, but nevertheless we go out two by two into the harvest field.

     I had an unusual time as I went out last night.  I was by myself last night as when we divided up into the groups we had an odd number so I thought it would be best for me to go out by myself.  Our intent last night was to start visiting the 1000 families that have moved into our area in the last month.  You might remember I wrote about them in my last post.  Anyway, I proceeded to make my way to the homes and realized that it was extremely dark and would be difficult to find the homes.  I was right.  The first home I never did find an address.  I know the house is there, but the lighting was poor and the addresses were no where to be found.  I decided to move on to the next house and look for it.  At first I could not find the street, and then I finally found the street.  It was  not a well lit street so it made it difficult to locate the house as well.  When I finally found the proper address, it was the last house on the street, the long drive way was dark and there were no lights on in the house.  I decided that it was probably not best to make the visit that evening.  Of course now that I have surveyed the area it will be much easier to visit them the next time. 

     There were a couple of things that made the visits extremely difficult.  First, I am still trying to learn the lay of the land, but the main reason was that it was dark.  These homes were not in well lit neighborhoods, but more like country roads that were not lit with street lights.  It is hard to get around in the dark.  It is hard to discern where you need to go.  I think there is a spiritual parallel as well.

     The Bible states that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.  As children of the light we are to be spend our time in his light.  In fact Peter states that God has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.  It is so much better to move around in the light.  However for the most part people still choose to walk in the dark.  Jesus spoke about this very issue in John 3 when he stated "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed."

      My attempt as visting people in the dark brings this truth to reality.  In the darkness I cannot see where I am going.  It is the same way in the spiritual realm.  When I choose to live in the darkness I do not know where I am going.  I cannot see what is in front of me so I stumble and fall.  I make mistakes and mess things up, because I am not able to discern what lies ahead.  I need a light to help me in my journey.  God's Word is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path.  Ultimately Jesus is the light of the world that gives light in the darkness.

      Are you tired of stumbling in the darkness?  Are you tired of trying to navigate the road of life without a light?  Then perhaps it is time to turn to the light and allow Him to light your path. 

     I want give up on visiting people in the night, but the next time I will take a light with me are I will go earlier so that I can find my way.  That sounds like a pretty good suggestion for all of us as well.  We do not have to try to walk the road of life without a light.  Jesus has shown us the way.  All we have to do is walk in His light. 

To invite or not to invite

      I heard an interesting statistic this week about the community in which I live.  My friend Dave was telling me that in the last month over 1000 new families have moved into our community.  Actually it was within a five mile radius of our church.  That is a lot of people coming to our area in a short amount of time.  I know nothing about any of them.  And I do not believe any of them have attended our fellowship in the last month.  You might think we would have one family drop in by accident, but that has not been the case.

      Dave has been diligently working to organize the names in a systematic way so we can drop by their house and welcome them to the community.  Did I say that it was over a 1000 new families and Dave is organizing them so that our fellowship can contact them.  You know every church needs a Dave.  Dave is the guy that works behind the scenes to keep us on our toes to reach out to our community.  He is an incredible asset to a church and is utilizing his gifts for the kingdom.   I hope your church has a Dave.  But this post is not about Dave, it is about the 1000 families new to our area.

     How do we as a church reach out to these new families?  We may not know them, but we know that God knows them.  So we must some how find a way to extend a gracious invitation to them.  The best way is to invite them to attend church.  I was reading an interesting statement the other day that said 8 out of 10 unchurched persons said they would come to church if they were invited.  WOW is that true?  According to scientific research that number is correct.  I guess the old statement "if we invite them they will come" has validity.

      However, even though the unchurched will attend if invited we as followers of Jesus Christ are not doing a very good job of extending an invitation.  According to research, only 21 percent of active churchgoers invite anyone to church in the course of a year.  However the statistic becomes even more alarming when we discover that only 2 percent of church members invite an unchurched person to church. 

     This whole discussion brings me to another friend of mine named Georgia.  Georgia blames it on me, but I think it is just who she is a person.  Georgia invites everyone to come to church.  She was in Curves the other day and invited someone to church.  She was getting the oil changed in her car and invited someone to come to church.  I get excited when Georgia tells me these stories and she challenges me to do a better job of inviting people to church.  Every church needs a Georgia.  Does your church have a  Georgia? 

     Here's the scoop: we do not necessarily have to share the gospel with those we invite, the first step is just extend an invitation.  Everybody likes invitations.  It makes them feel important.  It makes them feel special.  Now in the process if you get the chance to share the gospel, by all means do so.  But the least we can do is invite someone to attend.  So what do you think?  Should we as a church invite people to attend or should we just wait for them to show up? 

What do you see?

     Have you ever stopped to just watch people?  Have you ever wondered what is going on in their life?  Often times when we see people we may become annoyed by what they are doing and possibly even mad at them for some reason.  They may be an inconvenience in our little world or perhaps they just get in our way.  After all everything centers on us anyway?  Yet, in order for us to truly be able to share the message of Christ with the world we need to see people through a different set of eyes.  Stephen Covey in his highly successful book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People tells a story that reveals the need to see people differently.  Covey writes:

     I remember a min-paradigm shift I experienced one Sunday morning on a subway in New York.  People were sitting quietly - some reading newspapers, some lost in thought, some resting with their eyes closed.  It was a calm, peaceful scene.
     Then, suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car.  The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed.  They sat down next to me and their father closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation.  The children were yelling back and forth, throwing things, even grabbing people's papers.  It was very disturbing.  And yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing.
     It was difficult not to feel irritated.  I could not believe that he could be so insensitive as to let his children run wild like that and do nothing about it, taking no responsibility at all.  It was easy to see that everyone else on the subway felt irritated too.
     So, finally, with what I felt was unusual patience and restraint, I turned to him and said, "Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people, I wonder if you couldn't control them a little more?"
     The man lifted his gaze as if to come to a consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly, "Oh, you're right.  I guess I should do something about it.  We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago.  I don't know what to think, and I guess they don't know how to handle it either."
     Can you imagine what I felt at that moment?  My paradigm shifted.  Suddenly, I saw things differently, and because I saw things differently I thought differently, I felt differently, I behaved differently.  My irritation vanished.  I didn't have to worry about controlling my attitude or my behavior; my heart was filled with the man's pain.  Feelings of sympathy and compassion flowed freely.
     "Your wife just died?  Oh, I'm sorry!  Can you tell me about it?  What can I do to help?" 
     Everything changed in an instant.

     Before we can truly bring meaning and relevance to the people we must begin seeing them differently than we did before.  Let me ask you again.  What do you see when you see people?  Do you see people as an irritation or someone that just gets in your way?  Or do you see them through the eyes of Christ and have compassion for them?

Do we exist?

     Several years ago I was driving around in a town where I previously lived and became aware of a church that I did not know existed.  I had never heard of the church.  I had never heard of the pastor of the church.  I had never heard anyone talk about the church.  I did not know what the church believed or when they met.  I wondered "does this church really exist?" 

     My question was relevant then and it is still relevant now.  Just because there was a small sign indicating that there was a church did not prove that the church existed.  So my question for us to consider is "when do we know a church exist in a community?"  What is the sign that a church is present in a community? 

     You see the truth is that just because there is a building present does not mean a church is really in the community.  I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this idea. 

     Here is another idea to consider.  "If a christian works in your workplace and no one knows that a christian works in your work place, does the christian really work in  your workplace?"  What do you think?  Perhaps you have seen the dilemma in this question.  The key to anwering this question is seen in the idea of YOUR workplace.  Do others know that a Christian exists in your workplace?  What are you doing about it?  I would love to hear your comments. 

     I guess I could ask "if I write a blog and no one notices the blog does the blog really exist?"  Now that is a question that begs to be answered.  Perhaps you can provide me an answer. 

Twenty years later

     I want to warn you right up front that some of you are going to get mad at this post.  Some of you will get irritated and be offended.  So if  you are that type of individual I would advice you to stop reading now.  My intent is not to anger or provoke, but to cause you to think in a different way.  Let me assure you that God has been working on me with a big stick and I still need Him to work on me some more.

     Years ago a popular movie came out called Crocodile Dundee.  There is a scene in the movie where Mick Dundee, hero of the Australian outback, checks into a hotel in New York City and looks around and sees a television in one corner of the room..  Mick responds "Television.  I haven't watched TV for twenty years."  He turns on the set only to find the opening credits to I Love Lucy rolling across the screen.  Mick mumbles to himself as he turns off the set "Yep, pretty much what I remember."

     What's the point?  How many people have returned to our churches after a long absence and discovered that nothing has changed?  We are singing the same songs and saying the same things and basically doing things the way we did it 20 years ago.  They walk into our churches and say "Yep, pretty much what I remember."

     Please do not get me wrong.  The message of the church never changes "salvation is found in Christ alone by grace alone, through faith alone."  Yet how do we package this wonderful message?  There are people today that need the message we have to share.  Some of them have left the church only to return at a later date.  Others have never attended church, but would attend if a friend invited them.  When they come what will they find? 

     What do you think?  I would love to hear your thoughts and dialogue with you about the plight of the church.  I look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas. 

Are we ready?

    Apparently there were people in the time of Jesus that thought the way people still do today.  During the time of Jesus many individuals believed that when people died in natural disasters or were the victims of an attack that they must have been more guilty than others.  The idea was that God caused these things to happen because they were more sinful than others.

     Jesus quickly dispels this myth.  God does not cause some to die because they are more guilty than others.  Instead Jesus points out that unless we all repent, we too will all perish.  (LUKE 13:1-5) The point that Jesus was trying to stress is the importance of being ready to face eternity.  We never know what will happen in the future.  We must be prepared for the future today.  The time to be ready for eternity is to be ready today.

     As I think of these teachings from Jesus I can't help but wonder how many people from 9/11 were ready to face eternity?  How many people during hurricane Katrina were ready to face eternity?  These are just two examples, but it really goes for any natural disaster or attack by man.  Are we ready to face eternity today?

     The thing is that many people may think that they are ready.  Later in the same chapter Jesus is asked the question "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?"  Jesus does not answer the question, but instead tells them to make every effort to enter through the narrow door.  Many people will try to get into the kingdom of heaven in a variety of ways, but Jesus states there is only one door by which people may enter.  These individuals will know who Jesus is and what he taught.  As they are standing outside the door crying out to be let in, they are heard to say "We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets."  But Jesus will reply "I DON"T KNOW YOU."  In other words I did not have a relationship with you.

     The sad news is that there are many people today who know a lot about Jesus.  They have even enjoyed being around other Christians, perhaps fellowshiping with them.  They have heard the teachings of Jesus, but the problem is that they have never made a commitment to be His disciple.  They have not placed their faith in Him as the only way to spend eternity with God.  They have not prepared themselves for that day today. 

     However there is another angle in which we need to consider this idea.  What are we doing about it?  What are we doing to communicate to people the need to be ready for eternity today?  We never know what the future may hold.  We do not know what will happen tomorrow or next week.  We might be driving down the road minding our own business when suddenly we wake up some place else.  Are we ready for that day?  It is not my intention to scare you or to manipulate you into believing in Jesus.  Yet it is my desire to stress to you the importance of being ready for that day.

     Do you think that the people who died on 9/11 were ready?  Do you think the people who died in hurricane Katrina were ready?  Perhaps those events happened to open our eyes to our own mortality and lead us to make sure that we are ready as well.  In the words of Jesus:  "Do you think those New Yorkers that died on 9/11 were more guilty than you?   Do you think those from New Orleans were more guilty than you?  I tell you no!  But unless you repent, you too will all perish." 

     Are we ready?  Are you ready?  What are we doing about it?

Does God understand?

     Have you ever wondered if God really understands what is going on in your life?  Do you question if He knows your address or is aware of your circumstances?  If not, then you probably do not need to continue reading this post.  But if you are like me and have these questions then continue reading and hopefully we can find some assurances together.

     There are many people like me that wonder if God is listening or if God cares.  You know I have a house to sell and have been praying for several months that God would send someone to buy my house.  Yet as of today He has not answered my prayer, or at least in the way that I think He should.  Hello, God this is Bruce can you hear me?  Have you ever felt like this in your life?  Sometimes we wonder do we not?

     I heard a story once that helped me in my struggles and continues to do so today. There was a family that lived in Kansas that went through a tornado that destroyed their home.  From that point on the little daughter became frightened every time the sky darkened and storm winds began to blow.  In her mind's eye another tornado was approaching.

     One evening a terrible thunderstorm developed.  The torrential rain pour, the loud thunder and the cracking of the lightening frightened the little girl.  When it was time for her to go to bed, she was afraid to go upstairs to her bed.  Her parents took her to bed and tucked her in.  However from the living room down below the could hear her crying, so her father went upstairs to see if he could calm her fears.

     He tried to console her and told her "there's no reason to cry.  It is only a thunderstorm.  It will soon be over.  There is no reason to be scared or afraid."

     The little girl responded to her father, "Yeah, Daddy, that's easy for you to say you don't know what it's like to be little!"

     We often times are like this little girl.  We go through difficult times and we wonder if God really knows what we are going through.  Does God know what it is like to be human?  Does He know what it is like to be like me?  That is the message of the gospel.  The Bible is clear that God does understand.  The incarnation of Jesus Christ reminds us that God knows exactly what it is like to be human.  Because He knows, He understands us, even better than we understand ourselves.  No other religion has a God who understands. 

     Paul states that Jesus took "the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man."  Jesus was just like you and He was just like me.  He went through difficult times in His life as well.  He knows what it is like to hurt.  He knows what it is like to lose someone He loved.  He knows what it is like to struggle.  He knows what it is like to suffer.  In fact the writer of Hebrews states that we have a God "who has been tempted in every way, just as we are."  God understands and you do not have to wonder if He knows your situation.  He wants you to cast all your cares upon Him because He cares for you.   Be encouraged in whatever situation you are in.  God knows and He cares.  I pray that you will sense God's presence in your life today and from now on.  Blessings to you as you go through life.

Monday morning lookback

      This past weekend was a good time of reflection and remembrance as Lynwood Baptist Church celebrated it's 50th year of ministry.  The core team has been planning for this event for almost a year and it was great to see the local body come together to make the anniversary special.  A 50th anniversary only happens once, but it will be remembered for a long time.  A special thanks to everyone involved for making it happen. 

We began the weekend with a trek to the original location of Lynwood, which was called New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in the beginning. The church met in Bristol Station in rented facilities.  Below is a picture of our first location.

It was the beginning of something special as Pastor Tom Winchester began preaching at this location.  It was great to hear the stories from brother Tom of those first few years at this location.  It was funny to hear the stories of the indoor outhouse that was behind the platform.  Those beginning days were marked with excitement and anticipation as God moved in the lives of the early church to plant a witness in the Fox Valley. 

Eventually the church purchased property on Highway 34 and erected their first building, which would later become the parsonage.  It was designed with the worship facility on the top floor and education space in the basement.  Brother Tom said it cost $16,000 to build the building, which was a significant amount for the young church to pay.  Most of it was built by church members and a handful of volunteers.  The church moved from Bristol to their new location in 1963.  Below is the church as it appeared during that time.  Brother Tom shared many stories of worship in that first permanent building.  He said it originally would hold 100 people for worship and had a small nursery in the back of the auditorium. 

      Brother Tom stayed at Lynwood Baptist Church for 5 years until he sensed that God was ready to move him elsewhere.  He eventually was led to start another mission church down the road in Newark, Illinois, where he stayed for 28 years as pastor of First Baptist Church, Newark.  The church continued to meet in this building for several years under the leadership of two pastors, Reverend Collier and Reverend Cupples.  Under the leadership of Reverend Cupples the church built another facility and converted the existing building to a parsonage for the pastor.  The building was built in the 70's, and originally looked like a red barn or so I have been told.  The church was painted white and is still in use by the body of believers that meets there today.  The building has added an educational wing and has been renovated a few times, including the steeple that is in the middle of the roof.  Former pastor Richard Van Cleave has a wonderful story about the addition of the steeple.  It was great to see the video of the steeple being erected .  Here is a picture of the church as it looks today.

    There have been many people that have come through the doors of Lynwood Baptist Church.  The original members are gone and there are a handful left from earlier times, but God is still moving in the body of believers to continue what was started in the beginning of Lynwood's history.  Lynwood now sets on the major roadway between two of the fastest growing cities in the area.  Even though the economy has slowed down much of the growth, I believe it is for a purpose.  The slow down allows Lynwood to regroup, refocus and reenergize for the task that lies ahead.  God has great plans for this body of believers for the next 50 years.  I like to tell everybody that we are built on a strong foundation to build a bridge to the future.  I thank all the pastors that led this body before me and the many members that have sacrificed to continue a viable witness in the community.  God is still moving in the hearts of our congregation today to reach out to our community with the love of Christ.  We are trying to incarnate the message of the gospel by loving God and loving people in real tangible ways.  Lynwood Baptist Church has a great past and a wonderful future.  Below is what our future building will look like as we work together to continue our task. 

To God be the Glory.  Great things He has done and He will continue to do so as we move into the next 50 years of faithful ministry in the Fox Valley.  I can't wait to see what God is going to do.  If you live in the area and want to be a part of our exciting future there is no better time than now to join us as we strive to serve our Lord.  We can make a difference if we will join together with God in what He is doing. 

Praying the rain will stop

     I am later writing my post this week as I have been preoccupied with many things.  Foremost on my mind is the 50th anniversary of Lynwood Baptist Church.  I have only been here a few months but I am excited about this weekend and meeting some of the heroes in Lynwood's history.  It should be a great time of remembrance and celebration.  The only bad spot is that it has been raining basically for the last several days and today has been the worst.

     We have been planning for quite some time, but it looks like we will have to go to plan C now.  I hope we have one.  I have been praying for the rain to go away, but so far God has not decided that my prayer needs to be answered.  Maybe I am not in the right posture, or perhaps my words are not right.

     I remember hearing a story about a 3-year-old boy who went to the grocery store with his mother.  Before they entered the store she told him, "Now you are not going to get any chocolate chip cookies, so don't even ask."

     She put him in the cart and he sat in the little child's seat while she wheeled down the grocery aisles.  He was doing just fine until they came to the cookie section.  He saw the chocolate chip cookies and he stood up in the seat and said, "Mommy, can I have some chocolate chip cookies?"  She said, "I told you not even to ask.  You are not going to get any at all."  So he sat back down.

     They continued shopping, but in their search for certain items they ended up back in the cookie section.  "Mommy, can I please have some chocolate chip cookies?"  She said, "I told you that you can't have any.  Now sit down and be quiet."

     Finally, they were approaching the checkout lane.  The little boy sensed that this may be his last chance.  So just before they got to the line, he stood up on the seat of the cart and shouted in his loudest voice, "In the name of Jesus, may I have some chocolate chip cookies?"  And everybody around just laughed.  Some even applauded.  Due to the generosity of the other shoppers, when mother and son left the store they left with 23 boxes of chocolate chip cookies.  

     You see it does matter how we pray.  How do you pray?  Are you praying in Jesus name?  The Bible says if we ask anything in his name, we shall receive it.  Of course we know that it must be according to the will of the Father, but still that is a pretty good promise.  So here it goes "IN THE NAME OF JESUS could you please make it stop raining."  That should do it.  Hope all your prayers are answered as well.  God bless you.

Facebook Friends

     I have finally moved into the 21st century when it comes to technology.  I finally created a facebook page for myself.  I have been resistent to doing so, but I decided it was about time that I entered into the internet for communicating and connecting with friends past and present.

     I was resistent because I was afraid that I would have no friends to connect with.  I look at my wife's facebook and everyone wants to be her friend and I thought maybe God might humble me and no one would want to be my friend or they might be a sympathy friend.  I know it is hard to believe, but sometimes being a pastor can be a lonely business.  Pastors are friends to everyone, but have difficulty being close to anyone.  It is not by choice, but often it is by necessity.  There are times when pastors have to make tough decisions and it may not be popular.  When those decisions affect friends it makes it much more difficult.  It also may hinder a pastor from making a decision because it might affect his friendship with someone.

     I remember in one church were I was pastor I had a staff member whom I loved dearly.  I thought he had wonderful potential, but the people in the church kept telling me to get rid of him.  He was rough around the edges, but had a great heart for worship and connecting people to God.  They basically informed me to either ask him to resign or they were going to fire him.  You know what the people did not like about him?  He led the church to sing contemporary songs.  Of course he did so at my direction.  But the point is that this guy was my friend and I had to make a decision that was heartbreaking about him.  Perhaps I was a wimp when I think about it, but that is another post. 

     This scenario could play itself out in many different ways.  When we do not want to damage a friendship it may keep us from doing the things that truly need to be done.  As a result many pastors live on an island with only a handful of close friends.  We want to please everyone and in so doing we really please no one.  I am reminded of the old story about an old man and his grandson who made their way into town on a donkey. The grandfather put the boy on the donkey until he heard people say, "Look at that selfish child making that old man walk!" The grandfather couldn't stand to have people criticize his grandson, so he asked the boy to walk while he rode. Then he heard the people say, "Look at that selfish old man riding and making the poor little boy walk." So he got off and they both walked. Then he heard the people say, "Look at those stupid two people. They've got a donkey and they're not even using it." So both the man and the boy rode the donky together. Then they heard people say, "Look at those cruel people abusing that poor animal!" They are going to break his back with that load!" They finally walked into town carrying the donkey!


     The point of the story is obvious, there is no way we can please everyone.  I have since gotten over myself and the thought that no one would be my friend on facebook.  I am not overly concerned if they do or they don't.  I cannot please all the people all the time so I don't try.  I have a hard enough time trying to please some of the people some of the time.  
    
     Think of your own situation.  Does your friendship with others keep you from making difficult decisions.  For some of you that might mean you have to tell your friends you can no longer do the things you did at one time.  It might mean you can't hang in the places you used to hang.  It might mean you cannot socialize with certain people because they might lead you down a path you cannot go.  Friendship is not easy and sometimes it makes demands on us.  But a true friend will love at all times, even if it means making the tough decisions.

     Ultimately we have one friend that we can always count on.  He will never leave us and he will always speak the truth to us.  He will never stop loving us and will be there in the good and the bad times.  As the old song said "What a Friend we have in Jesus."  I wonder if Jesus had a facebook would I be his friend?  More importantly would He want to be mine?  Now that is something to think about.  What do you think?  Have you ever wondered if Jesus would be your friend on facebook?