Thankful
When I get to Thanksgiving, I always think of those years as a little kid in Macon Georgia. We'd all pile in the car and head over to my Aunt Geneva's house, just up from the cotton mill on Roff Avenue. All of my cousins would be there too, and so we'd get every opportunity to get into trouble.
There was Uncle Ben's bomb shelter, conveniently located under the house, to explore. There were the train tracks to put a penny on, and the post office a block away to visit and see the scary faces of the most wanted. And just down the street was my Uncle Will's store, where barefoot little boys could convince their uncle that his cookies needed to be tested for freshness.
Good times.
Oh there were amazing meals. Collard Greens, pecan pies (no one cooks pecan pies like people with pecan trees in their backyard), my Aunt Geneva's best in the world corn bread, turkey and dressing, and every cake known to mankind. For a kid whose parents both worked, and our normal meal would be a 30 minute wonder - it was a staggeringly impressive feast - every year.
And yes, there was football - inside and outside. We'd play outside until lunch, then take some time to properly recover from said lunch by watching the Bears and the Lions or later the Cowboys and whoever they were beating on TV.
I was amazed when I sat down to write this, just how much of the little details of events that happened 40 years ago I did remember. The cars they drove, the year my cousin came home from the Army in uniform, the colors and fall chill - all come leaping back to my memory.
But you know, what I remember most is the laughter. When my Mother's family got together, there was always laughter. That didn't mean that life for them was wonderful - this was the mill village, and like most families, they had troubles. Money troubles, alcohol troubles, kid troubles, and health troubles.
When they were together, something incredible happened - none of those seemed so large. When I think about it now, I'm convinced that happened because when they came together, they were conscious of just how much they loved each other, and just how powerful that love could be, and was.
And when they prayed, it wasn't the 20 second version of grace, it was the recitation of what God had done in the past year for them, how grateful they were for His grace, and how thankful they were that God put them together as a family.
Grace was tangible - abundant - real. And people didn't take it for granted - they built their lives on that foundational truth. It wasn't "lucky" that they were together, it was God's grace. And in that grace they dealt with adversity and with blessings - in their fierce love for one another.
I always came away impressed that if I was a part of that family, I would never lack for love. No matter what I grew up to be, no matter what I was to make of my life, I could always come back home and run right into the arms of love. Several pairs of them. :)
In a way, it's what I believe church should be.
We love, because He first loved us. And out of that love, we live lives that testify to the grace we have received. We grow our "family" by opening our arms to those outside and setting another place at the table. Just as no one ever was a stranger on Thanksgiving at the Bowden family's meal, no one should ever be turned away.
And come blessings or trials, you have a home filled with love.
Lots of those people who fill my memories have passed away now. But they helped make me who I am. And last night when I read this passage again, I could smell collard greens cooking and hear the laughter.
18 I'm going back to my father. I'll say to him, "Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; 19 I don't deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand." ' 20 He got right up and went home to his father.
"When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 The son started his speech: 'Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son ever again.'
22 "But the father wasn't listening. He was calling to the servants, 'Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We're going to feast! We're going to have a wonderful time! 24 My son is here— given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!'
Luke 15:18-24 (MSG)
I'm very thankful to be a part of the family called New Hope, and wherever you are I pray that you are a part of such a loving group of people. May all who read this know that God loves you with a love fiercer than any family could ever muster. And He's eagerly waiting for the reunion to come.
Happy Thanksgiving and may God's richest blessings be yours.
Grace and peace,
David
Lead Pastor, New Hope
Showing posts with label New Hope. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Hope. Show all posts
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Just Throw Strikes
It's Saturday night, the weekend before Thanksgiving. I've worked all week on the
My task is to draw them into the story, and deliver the Word as it was and as it is. Might not be unique. But it will be real.
next "Mythbuster", attacking the myth of "God owes me". Most preachers I talk to say that the holiday sermons are the hardest. I tend to agree. The "land" has been plowed so many times that you and your congregation can write the sermon without you saying anything.
"be more thankful" - now let's eat.
The temptation is to try to get fancy. To come up with something no one has ever seen before. Ray Pritchard gave me a word on that tonight I wanted to share.
The following story comes from my friend Dave Burchett. It seems that a young pitcher for the Texas Rangers had just been called up from the minors. He got his big chance because he had shown a fearless ability to throw strikes no matter who was at the plate. Finally the night came when he was going to pitch in the major leagues for the first time. Like many players getting their first start, the young hurler was nervous and it showed on the mound. Thinking he needed to make a good impression, he tried this pitch and that pitch. Slider, fastball, curve, forkball, you name it, he tried it. He pitched high, low, inside, outside, in the dirt, he was all over the place. He walked batters left and right, and the ones he didn’t walk hit the ball hard. At length, having seen enough, the manager decided to talk to the young man. When he got to the mound, the manager put his hand on the pitcher’s shoulder and said, “Son, Babe Ruth is dead. Throw strikes.”
That’s good advice for budding pitchers. Babe Ruth is dead so don’t try to be cute. Just throw strikes. Put the ball over the plate. If they hit it, they hit it, but don’t try to throw some kind of fancy pitch you haven’t mastered yet. Throw strikes. That’s the heart of good pitching.
My task is to draw them into the story, and deliver the Word as it was and as it is. Might not be unique. But it will be real.
Friday, November 09, 2007
The Wheels On the Bus Go Round and Round Is A Worship Song
It's 12:40 Thursday afternoon, and the kids are ready to go to music. Each person grabs a wheelchair's arms and begin pushing one of the children down the ramp on the way to music. When we get there, the kids will all be in a semicircle, and we'll kneel down to get to eye level.
The goal is to get a reaction - any reaction. For these kids are profoundly disabled and confined to their wheelchairs. To get them to react, the music teacher uses simple songs, percussion instruments, bells, and other objects like scarves and cardboard bees on Popsicle sticks.
New Hope has an amazing group of people who have adopted these kids and spend some time two days a week reading to the kids and doing the music time with them. We do it in order to live out Christ's love in our neighborhood. We do it out of a love for Jesus and what He's done for us. I don't know about the rest of our team from New Hope, but Bunny and I come away happy but drained. We give it everything we have for those minutes with the kids, and if we get a reaction, our hearts leap for joy.
So we laugh when we sing about fat turkeys, we ring the bells, tap the tambourines and rap the percussion tubes. And every time we go, we sing "The Wheels On the Bus Go Round and Round."
And Alli rings her bell and grins. And Logan scratches the tambourine's top. And Brendan shouts with joy.
And I thank God.
I'm very aware that people are funny about their worship music. Some prefer the hymns they grew up with. Others want the contemporary sound. The division over musical preference can drive people away from each other, from Christ's church, and from as close a relationship with God as they could have. That's a shame.
If only they could see Alex smile when we ring the bus's bell, and feel the joy we feel from being used to God to tell these kids just how much he loves them.
Then maybe there'd be room on the power point or in the hymnal for just one song more.
Yes, The Wheels On the Bus Go Round and Round Is A Worship song. To me. Because through it, I draw closer to God.
Grace and peace,
David
--
Visit with me at my blog:
http://davethepastor.vox.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/
16 Make sure you don't take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship— a different kind of "sacrifice"— that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets. Heb 13:16 (MSG)
It's 12:40 Thursday afternoon, and the kids are ready to go to music. Each person grabs a wheelchair's arms and begin pushing one of the children down the ramp on the way to music. When we get there, the kids will all be in a semicircle, and we'll kneel down to get to eye level.
The goal is to get a reaction - any reaction. For these kids are profoundly disabled and confined to their wheelchairs. To get them to react, the music teacher uses simple songs, percussion instruments, bells, and other objects like scarves and cardboard bees on Popsicle sticks.
New Hope has an amazing group of people who have adopted these kids and spend some time two days a week reading to the kids and doing the music time with them. We do it in order to live out Christ's love in our neighborhood. We do it out of a love for Jesus and what He's done for us. I don't know about the rest of our team from New Hope, but Bunny and I come away happy but drained. We give it everything we have for those minutes with the kids, and if we get a reaction, our hearts leap for joy.
So we laugh when we sing about fat turkeys, we ring the bells, tap the tambourines and rap the percussion tubes. And every time we go, we sing "The Wheels On the Bus Go Round and Round."
And Alli rings her bell and grins. And Logan scratches the tambourine's top. And Brendan shouts with joy.
And I thank God.
I'm very aware that people are funny about their worship music. Some prefer the hymns they grew up with. Others want the contemporary sound. The division over musical preference can drive people away from each other, from Christ's church, and from as close a relationship with God as they could have. That's a shame.
If only they could see Alex smile when we ring the bus's bell, and feel the joy we feel from being used to God to tell these kids just how much he loves them.
Then maybe there'd be room on the power point or in the hymnal for just one song more.
Yes, The Wheels On the Bus Go Round and Round Is A Worship song. To me. Because through it, I draw closer to God.
Grace and peace,
David
--
Visit with me at my blog:
http://davethepastor.vox.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/
On Poverty
We are the first generation that really can do something about the kind of “stupid” poverty that sees children dying of hunger in a world of plenty or mothers dying for lack of a 20-cent drug that we take for granted. We have the science, we have the resources, what we don’t seem to have is the will. This is an opportunity to show what America stands for.
Bono in Tom Davis’ Red Letters
I think there's hope rising in churches all over America. We are beginning to realize that we have been selfish and self centered and are rich and increased with goods. I pray that this Christmas season brings new opportunities to carry the Life into a dark world.
Your Kingdom Come, Lord!
Thursday, November 08, 2007
That Old Time Religion
You could call it the long war.
Every now and then, just when I think we might be about to break a long run of growth, it flares up again. The words are always from the same playbook. "Not enough hymns. We don't use the hymnal anymore. The communion table, I miss it. You don't want any old people here. You know we are the ones that support this church."
Friends, it gets old.
You can answer with facts. In our case we do about 25% hymns. ("But they aren't the right ones and you don't do them the right way.")
You can answer with vision. In our case it's to be multi-generational and grow our youth into leaders. (See 'you don't want any old people' above).
You can answer that you are trying to follow what God has called you to do. (They'll remind you that you need your salary. I then remind them my salary comes from God.)
It really doesn't matter what you answer.
Friends, if you are reading this and you aren't a pastor, I want you to know how hard it is for a person who's really trying to help people grow and reach other people, who's sacrificed numerous times to be here and stay here, to want to continue to hear it.
It makes me want to quit.
So stop it.
Every now and then, just when I think we might be about to break a long run of growth, it flares up again. The words are always from the same playbook. "Not enough hymns. We don't use the hymnal anymore. The communion table, I miss it. You don't want any old people here. You know we are the ones that support this church."
Friends, it gets old.
You can answer with facts. In our case we do about 25% hymns. ("But they aren't the right ones and you don't do them the right way.")
You can answer with vision. In our case it's to be multi-generational and grow our youth into leaders. (See 'you don't want any old people' above).
You can answer that you are trying to follow what God has called you to do. (They'll remind you that you need your salary. I then remind them my salary comes from God.)
It really doesn't matter what you answer.
Friends, if you are reading this and you aren't a pastor, I want you to know how hard it is for a person who's really trying to help people grow and reach other people, who's sacrificed numerous times to be here and stay here, to want to continue to hear it.
It makes me want to quit.
So stop it.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
For Better Or Worse
"...for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, ..."
I had the honor of being a part of the wedding of Nate and Amanda Albert this weekend. Good times. I always enjoy talking with the groom before weddings. They are usually worried about what to do. I remind them that when the bride comes down the aisle, no one looks at the groom.
Until the vows.
Then people pay very close attention to how the groom promises to live this life of love he is promising his bride. I always have, and I was reminded this weekend that other people do too.
The people that gather at weddings generally have some stake, some connection to either the bride or the groom, and want to know that the one they love will be loved "...for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in heath...", in other words - all the time. So we take vows before God and in front of witnesses that we will do just that.
Nate and Amanda did.
It's Tuesday now, and the newlyweds have been married three whole days. Wonder how many of the "or" provisions they have experienced? :)
You know, every person who decides to pledge their troth to Jesus has to learn how to love for better or worse too. The Holy Spirit places people within groups of other Christ followers called churches. Every one you meet there is a sinner who owes their place in the kingdom to Jesus' love, not anything that they did. And they will sin again, and sometimes hurt others. What then? It's easy to love people when they are lovely, but what about the times when they aren't?
And as we live, worship, grow and serve together, we live out our "vows" (to Jesus) by the way we love each other. Scripture records a few prescriptions that will help.
34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."John 13:34–35
12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.
John 15:12
10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
Romans 12:10
16 Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! Romans 12:16
8 Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God's law. Romans 13:8
19 So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.
Romans 14:19
5 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Romans 15:5
7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. Romans 15: 7
.
13 For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.
Galatians 5:13
2 Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.Galatians 6:2
2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.Ephesians 4:2
32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.Ephesians 5:32
13 Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.1 Thessalonians 3:13
This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
God has placed you in relationship with your brothers and sisters in Christ. That's no accident. So go back to basics - make sure we fulfill our vows to love one another.
For better, or worse.
The whole world is watching.
Grace!
David
"...for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, ..."
I had the honor of being a part of the wedding of Nate and Amanda Albert this weekend. Good times. I always enjoy talking with the groom before weddings. They are usually worried about what to do. I remind them that when the bride comes down the aisle, no one looks at the groom.
Until the vows.
Then people pay very close attention to how the groom promises to live this life of love he is promising his bride. I always have, and I was reminded this weekend that other people do too.
The people that gather at weddings generally have some stake, some connection to either the bride or the groom, and want to know that the one they love will be loved "...for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in heath...", in other words - all the time. So we take vows before God and in front of witnesses that we will do just that.
Nate and Amanda did.
It's Tuesday now, and the newlyweds have been married three whole days. Wonder how many of the "or" provisions they have experienced? :)
You know, every person who decides to pledge their troth to Jesus has to learn how to love for better or worse too. The Holy Spirit places people within groups of other Christ followers called churches. Every one you meet there is a sinner who owes their place in the kingdom to Jesus' love, not anything that they did. And they will sin again, and sometimes hurt others. What then? It's easy to love people when they are lovely, but what about the times when they aren't?
And as we live, worship, grow and serve together, we live out our "vows" (to Jesus) by the way we love each other. Scripture records a few prescriptions that will help.
34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."John 13:34–35
12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.
John 15:12
10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
Romans 12:10
16 Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! Romans 12:16
8 Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God's law. Romans 13:8
19 So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.
Romans 14:19
5 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Romans 15:5
7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. Romans 15: 7
.
13 For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.
Galatians 5:13
2 Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.Galatians 6:2
2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.Ephesians 4:2
32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.Ephesians 5:32
13 Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.1 Thessalonians 3:13
This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
God has placed you in relationship with your brothers and sisters in Christ. That's no accident. So go back to basics - make sure we fulfill our vows to love one another.
For better, or worse.
The whole world is watching.
Grace!
David
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Limits
It was Monday, the day when we catch up on everything we didn't have time for during the weekend and oh yeah, rest. Bunny and I were out and about - in Destin, then across to Ft Walton Beach, winding up at a craft store. We bumped into a lady who was parked in front of the wall of yarn, which happened to be on sale. She had a dozen or so skeins of yarn in her arms and was looking like she needed help, so I offered to go get her a buggy.
"No, if I have a buggy I will fill it. I'm trying to limit myself."
We had a good laugh over that, and true to her word, I saw the same lady at the check out with no more yarn than she could carry.
Don't you do that too?
I've seen (and been) people who limit their food intake by saying "I'll only get one plate full", and then defy all the laws of physics in attempting to get a metric ton of food on that platter.
I wonder if we do that with love too.
Set limits, I mean.
One of the things I love most about Jesus is that He never did that.
The rich young ruler comes up and smugly insists that he has kept ALL the commandments since he was a young boy. Yeah, right.
21 Jesus felt genuine love for this man as he looked at him. Mark 10:21 (NLT)
Jesus then asks him to live those commandments out, not just observe them, by giving everything he owns to the poor and come follow.
22 The man's face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go. Mark 10:22 (MSG)
The young man had decided beforehand just how much he would love Jesus. When Jesus saw what the man needed in order to unleash a real love for God and for others, His words pegged the man's limits.
What about you?
What if the place God has you now is what He would use to expand your limits?
What if those people you cannot stand to be around are there precisely because God wants you to drop your rights for His righteousness?
What if all those "hateful" people you see on TV are there to help you realize that God will tolerate no hate in you?
Are there limits to your love?
Grace!
David Wilson
It was Monday, the day when we catch up on everything we didn't have time for during the weekend and oh yeah, rest. Bunny and I were out and about - in Destin, then across to Ft Walton Beach, winding up at a craft store. We bumped into a lady who was parked in front of the wall of yarn, which happened to be on sale. She had a dozen or so skeins of yarn in her arms and was looking like she needed help, so I offered to go get her a buggy.
"No, if I have a buggy I will fill it. I'm trying to limit myself."
We had a good laugh over that, and true to her word, I saw the same lady at the check out with no more yarn than she could carry.
Don't you do that too?
I've seen (and been) people who limit their food intake by saying "I'll only get one plate full", and then defy all the laws of physics in attempting to get a metric ton of food on that platter.
I wonder if we do that with love too.
Set limits, I mean.
One of the things I love most about Jesus is that He never did that.
The rich young ruler comes up and smugly insists that he has kept ALL the commandments since he was a young boy. Yeah, right.
21 Jesus felt genuine love for this man as he looked at him. Mark 10:21 (NLT)
Jesus then asks him to live those commandments out, not just observe them, by giving everything he owns to the poor and come follow.
22 The man's face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go. Mark 10:22 (MSG)
The young man had decided beforehand just how much he would love Jesus. When Jesus saw what the man needed in order to unleash a real love for God and for others, His words pegged the man's limits.
What about you?
What if the place God has you now is what He would use to expand your limits?
What if those people you cannot stand to be around are there precisely because God wants you to drop your rights for His righteousness?
What if all those "hateful" people you see on TV are there to help you realize that God will tolerate no hate in you?
Are there limits to your love?
Grace!
David Wilson
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
The Butterfly Effect
God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. 17 This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us...
1 John 4:16-17 (MSG)
Chaos theorists (yes there really are people like that, academically, and then there are parents of multiple children) see the universe as a series of random occurrences that form a whole. The "Butterfly Effect" is the idea that one event, though insignificant by itself, can effect change due to its impact on other events.
I see that happen all the time.
When one person cares.
Today I saw a young Mother who was putting her infant into the baby seat in the rear seat of her SUV. As she moved her baby from stroller to seat, she paused and for a good 10 seconds, kissed it again and again, all the while smiling and telling the baby "do you know how much Mommy loves you?" Well it may be early for the baby to completely grasp that concept, but I'll bet he or she is well on the way - and this observer is there already. I doubt either will remember that brief interlude, but assuming it's only one of many that have occurred and that will occur - it will make a difference. It will influence change. It will have an impact far greater than that Mom ever imagined.
Her child will grow up knowing he is loved.
I got back to church, and I was still thinking about that incident as I'm walking out to change the sign. And how if everyone could just grasp how much God loves them - How He longs to have a relationship with them based on His love and our trust and obedience - oh what a difference it would make! There are so many little events around us that point to His goodness and His grace.
But too many are too busy to care, or too invested in the cult of self to ever admit they need a Savior. Still, people like ours here at New Hope, and other Christian churches throughout the world will keep on loving God and loving people, hoping that on some days, something we do will literally change the world.
Walking back from the sign, a Monarch butterfly flew by.
Made me smile.
First one I've seen this year. But it won't be the last, because this is the time of year when thousands of Monarchs are migrating to South America and come through here. So when you see one, you know - you can be sure - that many, many more are on their way.
What if random acts of kindness - of small acts done with great love - are like that?
What if your extra effort to care, or my going the extra mile to love could be the first of countless other expressions?
What if people got the idea that people who follow Jesus are loving, and kind, and what if they wanted to know why? We could tell them about Jesus and invite them along on the journey with Him.
Decide to be part of God's grand design - change the world.
Do something tomorrow, big or small, with great love.
Grace!
David
God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. 17 This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us...
1 John 4:16-17 (MSG)
Chaos theorists (yes there really are people like that, academically, and then there are parents of multiple children) see the universe as a series of random occurrences that form a whole. The "Butterfly Effect" is the idea that one event, though insignificant by itself, can effect change due to its impact on other events.
I see that happen all the time.
When one person cares.
Today I saw a young Mother who was putting her infant into the baby seat in the rear seat of her SUV. As she moved her baby from stroller to seat, she paused and for a good 10 seconds, kissed it again and again, all the while smiling and telling the baby "do you know how much Mommy loves you?" Well it may be early for the baby to completely grasp that concept, but I'll bet he or she is well on the way - and this observer is there already. I doubt either will remember that brief interlude, but assuming it's only one of many that have occurred and that will occur - it will make a difference. It will influence change. It will have an impact far greater than that Mom ever imagined.
Her child will grow up knowing he is loved.
I got back to church, and I was still thinking about that incident as I'm walking out to change the sign. And how if everyone could just grasp how much God loves them - How He longs to have a relationship with them based on His love and our trust and obedience - oh what a difference it would make! There are so many little events around us that point to His goodness and His grace.
But too many are too busy to care, or too invested in the cult of self to ever admit they need a Savior. Still, people like ours here at New Hope, and other Christian churches throughout the world will keep on loving God and loving people, hoping that on some days, something we do will literally change the world.
Walking back from the sign, a Monarch butterfly flew by.
Made me smile.
First one I've seen this year. But it won't be the last, because this is the time of year when thousands of Monarchs are migrating to South America and come through here. So when you see one, you know - you can be sure - that many, many more are on their way.
What if random acts of kindness - of small acts done with great love - are like that?
What if your extra effort to care, or my going the extra mile to love could be the first of countless other expressions?
What if people got the idea that people who follow Jesus are loving, and kind, and what if they wanted to know why? We could tell them about Jesus and invite them along on the journey with Him.
Decide to be part of God's grand design - change the world.
Do something tomorrow, big or small, with great love.
Grace!
David
Friday, August 31, 2007
crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor - won't cut it
I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears! 6 I'm sorry—forgive me. I'll never do that again, I promise! I'll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor."
Job 42:5-6 (MSG)
I've been thinking and praying today for those who don't "get" God.
Some of whom I know personally, and love.
Being kind of heavily invested myself in following Jesus, it is sometimes hard for me to step out of my "Holy Bubble" and understand just why people who I know have heard the story of God's love through Jesus and who have even followed Him for a while just never really commit.
But I'm getting help.
Reading that snippet of Job and God's conversation helps me see how someone can be very religious, go through all the right hoops and do all the right notions - even know the secret handshake - but miss God by a mile. Living off someone else's faith, never wrestling personally with the deep questions, just trusting that others know is like the hearsay and rumors Job talks about. Faith in Jesus is a personal decision, and if you don't ever really choose to follow Him, as soon as those who really are following - the ones you are hanging with - move on, you are left without even a thimble of real faith.
So Job is helping me see that faith in Jesus always has to be intensely personal. No second-hand faith - through family or friends - will get you where you need to be - with God.
Then there's Donald Miller, an amazingly authentic person who writes without benefit of exposure to the cultural Christianity most of us live in. He has this annoying habit of looking at what most of us and our churches do, and telling others about it.
For example:
We believe a person will gain access to heaven because he is knowledgeable about theology, because he can win at a game of religious trivia. And we may believe a person will find heaven because she is very spiritual and lights incense and candles and takes bubble baths and reads books that speak of centering her inner self; and some of us believe a person is a Christian because he believes five ideas that Jesus communicated here and there in Scripture, though never completely at one time and in one place; and some people believe they are Christians because they do good things and associate themselves with some kind of Christian morality; and some people believe they are Christians because they are Americans.
If any of these models are true, people who read the Bible before we systematically broke it down, and, for that matter, people who believed in Jesus before the printing press or before the birth of Western civilization, are at an extreme disadvantage. It makes you wonder if we have fashioned a gospel around our culture and technology and social economy rather than around the person of Christ.
- Donald Miller in Searching For God Knows What
You think?
Being a Christian means following Jesus Christ. In every situation. With every thought, every word, every action. It means a surrendered life that renounces selfishness for a life spent in loving God, loving your neighbor, and serving both.
It is an intensely personal commitment lived out among others who share it, for the benefit of those who don't. It's first hand knowledge, like this:
From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in— we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we're telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us. 3 We saw it, we heard it, and now we're telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!
1 John 1:1-4 (MSG)
My heart aches for those I love who don't love Jesus. If I contributed to you hearing rumors or hearsay and tried to give you a second-hand faith, I'm sorry. Faith is won after a struggle, where you surrender in order to win - and admit defeat to claim victory. You choose to follow Christ, no matter what.
No one else can do that for you.
It's your life.
Shalom,
David
Lead pastor - New Hope
I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears! 6 I'm sorry—forgive me. I'll never do that again, I promise! I'll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor."
Job 42:5-6 (MSG)
I've been thinking and praying today for those who don't "get" God.
Some of whom I know personally, and love.
Being kind of heavily invested myself in following Jesus, it is sometimes hard for me to step out of my "Holy Bubble" and understand just why people who I know have heard the story of God's love through Jesus and who have even followed Him for a while just never really commit.
But I'm getting help.
Reading that snippet of Job and God's conversation helps me see how someone can be very religious, go through all the right hoops and do all the right notions - even know the secret handshake - but miss God by a mile. Living off someone else's faith, never wrestling personally with the deep questions, just trusting that others know is like the hearsay and rumors Job talks about. Faith in Jesus is a personal decision, and if you don't ever really choose to follow Him, as soon as those who really are following - the ones you are hanging with - move on, you are left without even a thimble of real faith.
So Job is helping me see that faith in Jesus always has to be intensely personal. No second-hand faith - through family or friends - will get you where you need to be - with God.
Then there's Donald Miller, an amazingly authentic person who writes without benefit of exposure to the cultural Christianity most of us live in. He has this annoying habit of looking at what most of us and our churches do, and telling others about it.
For example:
We believe a person will gain access to heaven because he is knowledgeable about theology, because he can win at a game of religious trivia. And we may believe a person will find heaven because she is very spiritual and lights incense and candles and takes bubble baths and reads books that speak of centering her inner self; and some of us believe a person is a Christian because he believes five ideas that Jesus communicated here and there in Scripture, though never completely at one time and in one place; and some people believe they are Christians because they do good things and associate themselves with some kind of Christian morality; and some people believe they are Christians because they are Americans.
If any of these models are true, people who read the Bible before we systematically broke it down, and, for that matter, people who believed in Jesus before the printing press or before the birth of Western civilization, are at an extreme disadvantage. It makes you wonder if we have fashioned a gospel around our culture and technology and social economy rather than around the person of Christ.
- Donald Miller in Searching For God Knows What
You think?
Being a Christian means following Jesus Christ. In every situation. With every thought, every word, every action. It means a surrendered life that renounces selfishness for a life spent in loving God, loving your neighbor, and serving both.
It is an intensely personal commitment lived out among others who share it, for the benefit of those who don't. It's first hand knowledge, like this:
From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in— we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we're telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us. 3 We saw it, we heard it, and now we're telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!
1 John 1:1-4 (MSG)
My heart aches for those I love who don't love Jesus. If I contributed to you hearing rumors or hearsay and tried to give you a second-hand faith, I'm sorry. Faith is won after a struggle, where you surrender in order to win - and admit defeat to claim victory. You choose to follow Christ, no matter what.
No one else can do that for you.
It's your life.
Shalom,
David
Lead pastor - New Hope
crust and crumbs
I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears! 6 I'm sorry—forgive me. I'll never do that again, I promise! I'll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor."
Job 42:5-6 (MSG)
I've been thinking and praying today for those who don't "get" God.
Some of whom I know personally, and love.
Being kind of heavily invested myself in following Jesus, it is sometimes hard for me to step out of my "Holy Bubble" and understand just why people who I know have heard the story of God's love through Jesus and who have even followed Him for a while just never really commit.
But I'm getting help.
Reading that snippet of Job and God's conversation helps me see how someone can be very religious, go through all the right hoops and do all the right notions - even know the secret handshake - but miss God by a mile. Living off someone else's faith, never wrestling personally with the deep questions, just trusting that others know is like the hearsay and rumors Job talks about. Faith in Jesus is a personal decision, and if you don't ever really choose to follow Him, as soon as those who really are following - the ones you are hanging with - move on, you are left without even a thimble of real faith.
So Job is helping me see that faith in Jesus always has to be intensely personal. No second-hand faith - through family or friends - will get you where you need to be - with God.
Then there's Donald Miller, an amazingly authentic person who writes without benefit of exposure to the cultural Christianity most of us live in. He has this annoying habit of looking at what most of us and our churches do, and telling others about it.
For example:
We believe a person will gain access to heaven because he is knowledgeable about theology, because he can win at a game of religious trivia. And we may believe a person will find heaven because she is very spiritual and lights incense and candles and takes bubble baths and reads books that speak of centering her inner self; and some of us believe a person is a Christian because he believes five ideas that Jesus communicated here and there in Scripture, though never completely at one time and in one place; and some people believe they are Christians because they do good things and associate themselves with some kind of Christian morality; and some people believe they are Christians because they are Americans.
If any of these models are true, people who read the Bible before we systematically broke it down, and, for that matter, people who believed in Jesus before the printing press or before the birth of Western civilization, are at an extreme disadvantage. It makes you wonder if we have fashioned a gospel around our culture and technology and social economy rather than around the person of Christ.
- Donald Miller in Searching For God Knows What
You think?
Being a Christian means following Jesus Christ. In every situation. With every thought, every word, every action. It means a surrendered life that renounces selfishness for a life spent in loving God, loving your neighbor, and serving both.
It is an intensely personal commitment lived out among others who share it, for the benefit of those who don't. It's first hand knowledge, like this:
From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in— we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we're telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us. 3 We saw it, we heard it, and now we're telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!
1 John 1:1-4 (MSG)
My heart aches for those I love who don't love Jesus. If I contributed to you hearing rumors or hearsay and tried to give you a second-hand faith, I'm sorry. Faith is won after a struggle, where you surrender in order to win - and admit defeat to claim victory. You choose to follow Christ, no matter what.
No one else can do that for you.
It's your life.
Shalom,
David
Lead pastor - New Hope
Job 42:5-6 (MSG)
I've been thinking and praying today for those who don't "get" God.
Some of whom I know personally, and love.
Being kind of heavily invested myself in following Jesus, it is sometimes hard for me to step out of my "Holy Bubble" and understand just why people who I know have heard the story of God's love through Jesus and who have even followed Him for a while just never really commit.
But I'm getting help.
Reading that snippet of Job and God's conversation helps me see how someone can be very religious, go through all the right hoops and do all the right notions - even know the secret handshake - but miss God by a mile. Living off someone else's faith, never wrestling personally with the deep questions, just trusting that others know is like the hearsay and rumors Job talks about. Faith in Jesus is a personal decision, and if you don't ever really choose to follow Him, as soon as those who really are following - the ones you are hanging with - move on, you are left without even a thimble of real faith.
So Job is helping me see that faith in Jesus always has to be intensely personal. No second-hand faith - through family or friends - will get you where you need to be - with God.
Then there's Donald Miller, an amazingly authentic person who writes without benefit of exposure to the cultural Christianity most of us live in. He has this annoying habit of looking at what most of us and our churches do, and telling others about it.
For example:
We believe a person will gain access to heaven because he is knowledgeable about theology, because he can win at a game of religious trivia. And we may believe a person will find heaven because she is very spiritual and lights incense and candles and takes bubble baths and reads books that speak of centering her inner self; and some of us believe a person is a Christian because he believes five ideas that Jesus communicated here and there in Scripture, though never completely at one time and in one place; and some people believe they are Christians because they do good things and associate themselves with some kind of Christian morality; and some people believe they are Christians because they are Americans.
If any of these models are true, people who read the Bible before we systematically broke it down, and, for that matter, people who believed in Jesus before the printing press or before the birth of Western civilization, are at an extreme disadvantage. It makes you wonder if we have fashioned a gospel around our culture and technology and social economy rather than around the person of Christ.
- Donald Miller in Searching For God Knows What
You think?
Being a Christian means following Jesus Christ. In every situation. With every thought, every word, every action. It means a surrendered life that renounces selfishness for a life spent in loving God, loving your neighbor, and serving both.
It is an intensely personal commitment lived out among others who share it, for the benefit of those who don't. It's first hand knowledge, like this:
From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in— we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we're telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us. 3 We saw it, we heard it, and now we're telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!
1 John 1:1-4 (MSG)
My heart aches for those I love who don't love Jesus. If I contributed to you hearing rumors or hearsay and tried to give you a second-hand faith, I'm sorry. Faith is won after a struggle, where you surrender in order to win - and admit defeat to claim victory. You choose to follow Christ, no matter what.
No one else can do that for you.
It's your life.
Shalom,
David
Lead pastor - New Hope
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
She Meant Well
18 Place these words on your hearts. Get them deep inside you. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder. 19 Teach them to your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning until you fall into bed at night.
Deut 11:18-19 (MSG)
I've been sitting here for the last few minutes praying through our church directory. The people in it are all lined up nice, neat and alphabetical. Most are smiling, and I get to look at how they were on whatever Sunday morning their pictures were taken. Then I balance that snapshot against what I see happening in their lives, and I pray. Hard.
Most any of us can suck it up and look like we have it all together for the length of time it takes to have our picture taken, or the time it takes to "do church." But life invariably requires more of us that that, and we find that some are having trouble we'd never see in a snapshot of time.
As a pastor, my job is as one writer has put it is "to keep the congregation attentive to God".
Way over my head. I need a lot of help. So I pray. A lot. When I talk to my friends who are pastors, they echo the same feelings I have. Just different places, different names. People are people, I guess.
For some people seem determined to do everything else except focus on their walk with Jesus. I know personally what a heartache it is to look back over the course of your life and realize I had taken control and not let God order my days - it breaks my heart to know others are going down that same, well traveled, road.
The man who puts his work ahead of his family.
The woman who does the same.
The teenager or young adult who lets the culture or their friends determine their values and morals.
The parents who push their kids to be involved in every sort of extracurricular activity, even if it conflicts with worship or Bible study.
I know, they mean well.
But I get a horrible picture when I think about the consequences. That of the Greek mother last week whose town was threatened by wild fires. She got her kids together and tried to flee. They were found to have perished together, with her arms around them.
Her home was untouched by the flames.
She made a decision. There's absolutely no way she could have known for sure that her house would have been spared. What she did, even to the last, she did out of love.
She meant well, she just didn't know.
For a Christian, meaning well while in effect denying that your life and day planner has been surrendered to the cause of Christ just won't cut it.
We know better.
Life is a dress rehearsal of sorts to see if we are ready to meet God. We're given everything we need to succeed at it. The very Spirit of God takes up residence in us and gives us all the strength, courage, and wisdom we need - if we will surrender our ordinary days to Jesus.
At the end of our lives, I don't believe we'll be looking back on how many hours we put into that project at work, or how well we did in middle school band, high school chorus, or any of those things that we're valuing over walking with Jesus now.
When we stand in the presence of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, saying "I meant well" just isn't going to work.
Turn it over, all of it, to God. Pick up His plan, His scheme and walk in it. Don't get distracted by those things that ultimately won't matter at all.
Don't just mean well.
Follow Jesus.
Deut 11:18-19 (MSG)
I've been sitting here for the last few minutes praying through our church directory. The people in it are all lined up nice, neat and alphabetical. Most are smiling, and I get to look at how they were on whatever Sunday morning their pictures were taken. Then I balance that snapshot against what I see happening in their lives, and I pray. Hard.
Most any of us can suck it up and look like we have it all together for the length of time it takes to have our picture taken, or the time it takes to "do church." But life invariably requires more of us that that, and we find that some are having trouble we'd never see in a snapshot of time.
As a pastor, my job is as one writer has put it is "to keep the congregation attentive to God".
Way over my head. I need a lot of help. So I pray. A lot. When I talk to my friends who are pastors, they echo the same feelings I have. Just different places, different names. People are people, I guess.
For some people seem determined to do everything else except focus on their walk with Jesus. I know personally what a heartache it is to look back over the course of your life and realize I had taken control and not let God order my days - it breaks my heart to know others are going down that same, well traveled, road.
The man who puts his work ahead of his family.
The woman who does the same.
The teenager or young adult who lets the culture or their friends determine their values and morals.
The parents who push their kids to be involved in every sort of extracurricular activity, even if it conflicts with worship or Bible study.
I know, they mean well.
But I get a horrible picture when I think about the consequences. That of the Greek mother last week whose town was threatened by wild fires. She got her kids together and tried to flee. They were found to have perished together, with her arms around them.
Her home was untouched by the flames.
She made a decision. There's absolutely no way she could have known for sure that her house would have been spared. What she did, even to the last, she did out of love.
She meant well, she just didn't know.
For a Christian, meaning well while in effect denying that your life and day planner has been surrendered to the cause of Christ just won't cut it.
We know better.
Life is a dress rehearsal of sorts to see if we are ready to meet God. We're given everything we need to succeed at it. The very Spirit of God takes up residence in us and gives us all the strength, courage, and wisdom we need - if we will surrender our ordinary days to Jesus.
At the end of our lives, I don't believe we'll be looking back on how many hours we put into that project at work, or how well we did in middle school band, high school chorus, or any of those things that we're valuing over walking with Jesus now.
When we stand in the presence of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, saying "I meant well" just isn't going to work.
Turn it over, all of it, to God. Pick up His plan, His scheme and walk in it. Don't get distracted by those things that ultimately won't matter at all.
Don't just mean well.
Follow Jesus.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Oswald Chambers Reads My Emails, Hears Me Speak, Knows My Heart
We've been letting Oswald Chambers into our lives in the men's and women's groups at New Hope for the last few weeks. His classic "My Utmost for His Highest" has been around since 1935, and yet the application of his writings is as sharp and cutting as ever to any pretense of perfection the reader might hold.
After getting whipped again this morning, I started scanning the blog feeds (thanks Google Reader) for some relief. I got this instead:(from Between Two Worlds: Mark Driscoll by JT)
From D. A. Carson's Basics for Believers: An Exposition of Philippians:
I would like to buy about three dollars worth of gospel, please.
Not too much – just enough to make me happy, but not so much that I get addicted.
I don’t want so much gospel that I learn to really hate covetousness and lust.
I certainly don’t want so much that I start to love my enemies, cherish self-denial, and contemplate missionary service in some alien culture.
I want ecstasy, not repentance;
I want transcendence, not transformation.
I would like to be cherished by some nice, forgiving, broad-minded people, but I myself don’t want to love those from different races – especially if they smell.
I would like enough gospel to make my family secure and my children well behaved, but not so much that I find my ambitions redirected or my giving too greatly enlarged.
I would like about three dollars worth of the gospel, please. (pp. 12-13)
Two whippings in the same day?
Was it something I said? Or thought? Or wrote? I do believe that Chambers and Carson are ganging up on me. What's that? Oh... it was the Holy Spirit?
Then forgive me, Lord.
Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy.
Amen.
After getting whipped again this morning, I started scanning the blog feeds (thanks Google Reader) for some relief. I got this instead:(from Between Two Worlds: Mark Driscoll by JT)
From D. A. Carson's Basics for Believers: An Exposition of Philippians:
I would like to buy about three dollars worth of gospel, please.
Not too much – just enough to make me happy, but not so much that I get addicted.
I don’t want so much gospel that I learn to really hate covetousness and lust.
I certainly don’t want so much that I start to love my enemies, cherish self-denial, and contemplate missionary service in some alien culture.
I want ecstasy, not repentance;
I want transcendence, not transformation.
I would like to be cherished by some nice, forgiving, broad-minded people, but I myself don’t want to love those from different races – especially if they smell.
I would like enough gospel to make my family secure and my children well behaved, but not so much that I find my ambitions redirected or my giving too greatly enlarged.
I would like about three dollars worth of the gospel, please. (pp. 12-13)
Two whippings in the same day?
Was it something I said? Or thought? Or wrote? I do believe that Chambers and Carson are ganging up on me. What's that? Oh... it was the Holy Spirit?
Then forgive me, Lord.
Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy.
Amen.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Sometimes
5 Offer proper sacrifices, and trust in the LORD.
6 Many people say, "Who will show us better times?" Let the smile of your face shine on us, LORD.
7 You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and wine.
Psalms 4:5-7 (NLT)
I'm writing this on Monday morning, or as it is better known to us preacher-creatures, the graveyard shift.
We call it that, because so many preachers resign on Monday.
But sometimes, Monday comes and you wish it was time to go back and worship together again. That's me today. Yesterday was one of those moments when you can see the window of heaven open just a crack, and God's glory stream forth, like the sunshine through the clouds after the rain.
Nothing leading up to Sunday gave any indication that something special might happen. We are in the midst of a heat wave that's driving even native Floridians to stay close to their A/C. We had several families away on an outing, and some out of town for other reasons. We're in the last week of the kids summer vacation, and that's when families either squeeze a last getaway in, or haunt the Office Depot and K-Mart trying to get the list of supplies out of the way. So on Saturday night, I could have given you many reasons not to expect much from Sunday's worship.
Now I'm sitting here feeling a little bit like the guy they supposedly dug up a few years ago in Israel must have felt. We were looking at the story of David vs Goliath yesterday. When they were excavating the area around Elioth many years ago trying to confirm that event, they found a well preserved mummy - a Philistine. He was pretty well preserved, so they started trying to decipher what his life was like, and why he died. The pathologists determined that he died of a heart attack - pretty rare in that age.
Then the archaeologists discovered why.
Clutched in his hand was a scroll which recorded that he was a gambler,
and his last bet was apparently 20,000 shekels on...
Goliath.
So on this Monday I guess I learned yesterday, don't bet against God. "Offer proper sacrifices, and trust in the Lord", might just mean to prepare your hearts every single day to receive a blessing from Him, even if everything you know, every indicator of success, is screaming failure, all God has to do is whisper and His glory falls like rain.
Yesterday I saw two Bible study classes competing to see who could bless needy kids more.
Yesterday I saw a young boy rush to sign up to do yard work - wanting to be first to serve - and a man stepping aside to let him be.
Yesterday I saw Isaiah, a foster child, lead us in prayer after the children's moment and thank God for Doug his foster daddy.
Yesterday I saw people sing with the Psalmist (David of Israel) "Your name, like a strong and mighty tower"
Yesterday I saw people working with me, actively listening to the message and understanding that God has to be our focus not giants.
Yesterday I saw Jamie Roberts play a composition on piano "Thank you for wearing the crown" an offering of thanks to Jesus.
New friends were made, old friends were reconnected with, more people involved in worship, and the name of God lifted up.
Yeah, sometimes... it's great to be so wrong in what you think will happen, when seeing God at work is so awesome.
I won't be resigning this Monday. No way. No how.
Grace!
David
--
Visit with me at my blogs:
http://davethepastor.livejournal.com/
http://davethepastor.vox.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/
http://www.mychurch.org/newhope
5 Offer proper sacrifices, and trust in the LORD.
6 Many people say, "Who will show us better times?" Let the smile of your face shine on us, LORD.
7 You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and wine.
Psalms 4:5-7 (NLT)
I'm writing this on Monday morning, or as it is better known to us preacher-creatures, the graveyard shift.
We call it that, because so many preachers resign on Monday.
But sometimes, Monday comes and you wish it was time to go back and worship together again. That's me today. Yesterday was one of those moments when you can see the window of heaven open just a crack, and God's glory stream forth, like the sunshine through the clouds after the rain.
Nothing leading up to Sunday gave any indication that something special might happen. We are in the midst of a heat wave that's driving even native Floridians to stay close to their A/C. We had several families away on an outing, and some out of town for other reasons. We're in the last week of the kids summer vacation, and that's when families either squeeze a last getaway in, or haunt the Office Depot and K-Mart trying to get the list of supplies out of the way. So on Saturday night, I could have given you many reasons not to expect much from Sunday's worship.
Now I'm sitting here feeling a little bit like the guy they supposedly dug up a few years ago in Israel must have felt. We were looking at the story of David vs Goliath yesterday. When they were excavating the area around Elioth many years ago trying to confirm that event, they found a well preserved mummy - a Philistine. He was pretty well preserved, so they started trying to decipher what his life was like, and why he died. The pathologists determined that he died of a heart attack - pretty rare in that age.
Then the archaeologists discovered why.
Clutched in his hand was a scroll which recorded that he was a gambler,
and his last bet was apparently 20,000 shekels on...
Goliath.
So on this Monday I guess I learned yesterday, don't bet against God. "Offer proper sacrifices, and trust in the Lord", might just mean to prepare your hearts every single day to receive a blessing from Him, even if everything you know, every indicator of success, is screaming failure, all God has to do is whisper and His glory falls like rain.
Yesterday I saw two Bible study classes competing to see who could bless needy kids more.
Yesterday I saw a young boy rush to sign up to do yard work - wanting to be first to serve - and a man stepping aside to let him be.
Yesterday I saw Isaiah, a foster child, lead us in prayer after the children's moment and thank God for Doug his foster daddy.
Yesterday I saw people sing with the Psalmist (David of Israel) "Your name, like a strong and mighty tower"
Yesterday I saw people working with me, actively listening to the message and understanding that God has to be our focus not giants.
Yesterday I saw Jamie Roberts play a composition on piano "Thank you for wearing the crown" an offering of thanks to Jesus.
New friends were made, old friends were reconnected with, more people involved in worship, and the name of God lifted up.
Yeah, sometimes... it's great to be so wrong in what you think will happen, when seeing God at work is so awesome.
I won't be resigning this Monday. No way. No how.
Grace!
David
--
Visit with me at my blogs:
http://davethepastor.livejournal.com/
http://davethepastor.vox.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/
http://www.mychurch.org/newhope
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Who knew?
When I read the Bible, I sometimes come away confused.
Confused because I think that if I was THERE, living out the life of one of the people whose name is recorded on the pages - someone like Peter, or John - that I would be able to bring the story to greater heights and far more effectiveness.
Why?
Because I would GET IT.
See I have this tendency to look over the shoulder of someone like John and mutter, "you idiot. How can you see Jesus do these things over and over and still be so stoooopid. If I was there, I'd be putting up some parchment posters "Come see the Messiah. Bring the hurt, the injured, the broken-hearted. Their time has come."
I'd make it happen, because I can add. One dead son restored to his Mom = Son of God active RIGHT NOW! or one guy running around naked as a jaybird, cutting himself and throwing himself into the fire, meets Jesus, becomes whole, is healed = Messiah IS HERE - RIGHT NOW! FOLLOW HIM! LEAVE YOUR OLD LIFE AND COME! NOW!
Yeah, if I was there, I'd straighten those guys out. Cause I KNOW.
Well here's where I fall before God this morning, pleading for mercy and grace.
i know
and yet, I am silent...
far too often.
I assume, or pretend, or (to put the best possible spin on) I hope that the person with me at that moment knows.
but
what if
they don't.
Then we pick up the paper and turn to the obits, and read their name.
Who knew?
no...
who cared?
Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. Christ have mercy.
Here are some lyrics from the late Mark Heard, a fellow Maconite who understood.
There's an oasis in the heat of the day
There's a fire in the chill of night
A turnabout in circumstance makes each a hell in its own right
I've been boxed-in in the lowlands, in the canyons that think
I've been pushed to the brink of the precipice and dared not to blink
I've been confounded in the whirlwind of what-if's and dreams
I've been burned by the turning of the wind back upon my own flames
Knock the scales from my eyes
Knock the words from my lungs
I want to cry out
It's on the tip of my tongue
Speak words of hope into lives of quiet desperation. Tell of the One who gave you life - again. Let them know there is another path away from selfishness and greed toward sacrifice and significance.
Remember beloved, it's only good news if they hear it in time.
Grace!
David Wilson
--
Visit with me at my blogs:
http://davethepastor.livejournal.com/
http://davethepastor.vox.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/
http://www.mychurch.org/newhope
When I read the Bible, I sometimes come away confused.
Confused because I think that if I was THERE, living out the life of one of the people whose name is recorded on the pages - someone like Peter, or John - that I would be able to bring the story to greater heights and far more effectiveness.
Why?
Because I would GET IT.
See I have this tendency to look over the shoulder of someone like John and mutter, "you idiot. How can you see Jesus do these things over and over and still be so stoooopid. If I was there, I'd be putting up some parchment posters "Come see the Messiah. Bring the hurt, the injured, the broken-hearted. Their time has come."
I'd make it happen, because I can add. One dead son restored to his Mom = Son of God active RIGHT NOW! or one guy running around naked as a jaybird, cutting himself and throwing himself into the fire, meets Jesus, becomes whole, is healed = Messiah IS HERE - RIGHT NOW! FOLLOW HIM! LEAVE YOUR OLD LIFE AND COME! NOW!
Yeah, if I was there, I'd straighten those guys out. Cause I KNOW.
Well here's where I fall before God this morning, pleading for mercy and grace.
i know
and yet, I am silent...
far too often.
I assume, or pretend, or (to put the best possible spin on) I hope that the person with me at that moment knows.
but
what if
they don't.
Then we pick up the paper and turn to the obits, and read their name.
Who knew?
no...
who cared?
Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. Christ have mercy.
Here are some lyrics from the late Mark Heard, a fellow Maconite who understood.
There's an oasis in the heat of the day
There's a fire in the chill of night
A turnabout in circumstance makes each a hell in its own right
I've been boxed-in in the lowlands, in the canyons that think
I've been pushed to the brink of the precipice and dared not to blink
I've been confounded in the whirlwind of what-if's and dreams
I've been burned by the turning of the wind back upon my own flames
Knock the scales from my eyes
Knock the words from my lungs
I want to cry out
It's on the tip of my tongue
Speak words of hope into lives of quiet desperation. Tell of the One who gave you life - again. Let them know there is another path away from selfishness and greed toward sacrifice and significance.
Remember beloved, it's only good news if they hear it in time.
Grace!
David Wilson
--
Visit with me at my blogs:
http://davethepastor.livejournal.com/
http://davethepastor.vox.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/
http://www.mychurch.org/newhope
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Maybe this Methodist is onto something Baptists need to realize too
Don’t miss this…because this is important. Understand that once people sense the local church exists merely to raise funds for the corporate Church they feel like spectators rather than players. Such confusion about the role of the local church (and the people in it) topples the first domino in a cascading failure that degrades a denomination from “mainline” to “sideline.” This is a hands-on society comprised of individuals who’ve lost trust in institutions; people today want to do it themselves. There is a deep pool of volunteers with the desire to personally experience meaningful service. They know they only go around once in life and they want to drink deeply of the adventure…not send money to someone else so they have all the joy.
Instead, they will divvy up their offerings among the various organizations bombarding them for money: United Way, Red Cross, Salvation Army, UNICEF, the FOP and the Jerry Lewis Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy research. As that happens, the tithe is pulled from the local church, God removes his blessing and the local church becomes a pale shadow of the Biblically functioning community scripture describes. Congregations become sick and stop growing. Healthy grows.
Mark Beeson, pastor of Granger UMC
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Small Victories
I spent some time last Tuesday in a sanctuary, met several ministers, and witnessed acts of amazing compassion and love. As a result, I thanked God. But it wasn't in a church when it happened.
I was in a public school.
Larry and JoAnn Smith and I were visiting Sandy Dye's class for the profoundly disabled to get some ideas on how we as a Christian Community can help Sandy and the rest of the staff as they care for the children. We were treated to some real entertainment as the kids had "circle time" where they react to music. Sandy took the time to explain the background of each child, and some history of where they were when they came, where they are now, and where the staff hopes they can progress to.
Watching Sandy as she talked about where a 10 year old was 6 years ago when she first met him, and where he is now, I could see her relive countless days of repetition. Hearing her talk when she described the circumstances during the first three years of his life that contributed to his problems, there wasn't a flash of hate at who did it, just an underlying sadness that accompanied her words. Then as the child was placed in his walker and made his way out into the larger room, her eyes gleamed with pride when she said "he's had that for three days now, and look how well he's doing!"
To be placed in Sandy's care, a child has to be "the least of these", with no real chance of becoming a productive adult. That does not mean however, that they live sad and meaningless lives. The smiles on their faces were real. And the joy of those who cared for them was too.
There's a chance that one of the kids on the other end of the school might one day grow up to be president of the US, or the inventor of a vaccine for cancer, or one could be the first person to set foot on Mars. Valparaiso Elementary is an amazing school with caring professionals who do a great job teaching kids how to learn and how to live as citizens. With the foundation the kids get, they could go to the heights of our society's achievements.
None of Sandy's kids will, but that's beyond her control. What she can control is what they receive from her, and that will always be love. Not a passive love by any means - she wants to see them progress, to be all they can be, and she can be tough if she needs to be - but she draws from a deep well of compassion and care.
The laughter of the children at play was infectious and their smiles were magical. For a few minutes we found ourselves clapping hands, stomping feet, and singing silly songs. Everyone needs a circle of joy like that.
Someone who would have felt right at home helping in Sandy's classroom once said that we should not ask to do great things for God, but we should ask Him to give us the ability to do small things with great love.
Sandy does that.
We can too. And I hope that New Hope's hearts can grow larger as we serve Sandy's kids.
Small victories, yes. But big impact.
On us.
We love, because He first loved us.
Grace!
David Wilson
New Hope!
I spent some time last Tuesday in a sanctuary, met several ministers, and witnessed acts of amazing compassion and love. As a result, I thanked God. But it wasn't in a church when it happened.
I was in a public school.
Larry and JoAnn Smith and I were visiting Sandy Dye's class for the profoundly disabled to get some ideas on how we as a Christian Community can help Sandy and the rest of the staff as they care for the children. We were treated to some real entertainment as the kids had "circle time" where they react to music. Sandy took the time to explain the background of each child, and some history of where they were when they came, where they are now, and where the staff hopes they can progress to.
Watching Sandy as she talked about where a 10 year old was 6 years ago when she first met him, and where he is now, I could see her relive countless days of repetition. Hearing her talk when she described the circumstances during the first three years of his life that contributed to his problems, there wasn't a flash of hate at who did it, just an underlying sadness that accompanied her words. Then as the child was placed in his walker and made his way out into the larger room, her eyes gleamed with pride when she said "he's had that for three days now, and look how well he's doing!"
To be placed in Sandy's care, a child has to be "the least of these", with no real chance of becoming a productive adult. That does not mean however, that they live sad and meaningless lives. The smiles on their faces were real. And the joy of those who cared for them was too.
There's a chance that one of the kids on the other end of the school might one day grow up to be president of the US, or the inventor of a vaccine for cancer, or one could be the first person to set foot on Mars. Valparaiso Elementary is an amazing school with caring professionals who do a great job teaching kids how to learn and how to live as citizens. With the foundation the kids get, they could go to the heights of our society's achievements.
None of Sandy's kids will, but that's beyond her control. What she can control is what they receive from her, and that will always be love. Not a passive love by any means - she wants to see them progress, to be all they can be, and she can be tough if she needs to be - but she draws from a deep well of compassion and care.
The laughter of the children at play was infectious and their smiles were magical. For a few minutes we found ourselves clapping hands, stomping feet, and singing silly songs. Everyone needs a circle of joy like that.
Someone who would have felt right at home helping in Sandy's classroom once said that we should not ask to do great things for God, but we should ask Him to give us the ability to do small things with great love.
Sandy does that.
We can too. And I hope that New Hope's hearts can grow larger as we serve Sandy's kids.
Small victories, yes. But big impact.
On us.
We love, because He first loved us.
Grace!
David Wilson
New Hope!
Treasure In Uncommon Places
It is the week after the latest Harry Potter book came out. Many of us have read it already from cover to cover, enjoying a wild ride of fantasy. As a young boy, I read every Superman comic I could plead for, later enjoyed the works of Mark Twain, and others who took me to places and times I'll never inhabit - except through their prose.
As a pastor, over the years I have received different responses from people about the Harry Potter series when they found out I had read them all. And at times I've had questions from parents about whether their children should read them - those questions coming not because of what they knew personally about them, but what they had heard.
Well after finishing the last of the Harry Potter series, I'm not sure that as time goes by we might see theologians treating the books and their author much more kindly. For in this book I found words I have always treasured in the most uncommon places.
When Harry ventures back home to where his parents are buried, he comes across the gravestone of his mentor Dumbledore's mother and sister. The Mother was killed trying to protect the daughter from herself, and later the daughter died too. On the gravestone were these words.
Where your treasure is, there your hearts will be also.
This of course comes from Christ's words in Matthew 19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matt 6:19-21 (NIV)
Then Harry finds himself at the graves of his parents, who both died trying to protect him from an evil wizard, and the reader sees these words on their monument.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Coming again from Scripture - 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
1 Cor 15:24-26 (ESV)
The themes of "the Greater Good", of sacrifice, of selflessness, of laying down your life for your friends run all through this last book. If you cannot see that, it's not that you have read too much fiction.
It's that you have read too little Scripture.
Reading for information isn't enough. You have to read the Bible with a sense of anticipation and wonder, relief and amazement that God - this God - the One and Only God - would sacrifice His One and Only Son - for you. And that through your love for Him, you would lay down your life for your friends - no matter what. You know you are flawed, but that He is able to use you to change lives for eternity. And you have to be convinced in your very soul that your life matters to God - that what you do matters. You have a part in the Big Story of God's reconciling the world to Himself.
If you can see that connection with your own life's walk, then it will be easy to spot it wherever it appears in any variation whether explicitly Christian or not - even in fictional books like the Harry Potter series.
I'm grateful for J.K. Rowling's work, and the treasures I found in The Deathly Hallows. But I'm immeasurably more grateful to the God who through the sacrifice of His sinless Son, gave me freedom from guilt and shame, a purpose for living, and the hope of eternal life with Him, when death will be destroyed and love triumph over all.
Shalom,
David
It is the week after the latest Harry Potter book came out. Many of us have read it already from cover to cover, enjoying a wild ride of fantasy. As a young boy, I read every Superman comic I could plead for, later enjoyed the works of Mark Twain, and others who took me to places and times I'll never inhabit - except through their prose.
As a pastor, over the years I have received different responses from people about the Harry Potter series when they found out I had read them all. And at times I've had questions from parents about whether their children should read them - those questions coming not because of what they knew personally about them, but what they had heard.
Well after finishing the last of the Harry Potter series, I'm not sure that as time goes by we might see theologians treating the books and their author much more kindly. For in this book I found words I have always treasured in the most uncommon places.
When Harry ventures back home to where his parents are buried, he comes across the gravestone of his mentor Dumbledore's mother and sister. The Mother was killed trying to protect the daughter from herself, and later the daughter died too. On the gravestone were these words.
Where your treasure is, there your hearts will be also.
This of course comes from Christ's words in Matthew 19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matt 6:19-21 (NIV)
Then Harry finds himself at the graves of his parents, who both died trying to protect him from an evil wizard, and the reader sees these words on their monument.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Coming again from Scripture - 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
1 Cor 15:24-26 (ESV)
The themes of "the Greater Good", of sacrifice, of selflessness, of laying down your life for your friends run all through this last book. If you cannot see that, it's not that you have read too much fiction.
It's that you have read too little Scripture.
Reading for information isn't enough. You have to read the Bible with a sense of anticipation and wonder, relief and amazement that God - this God - the One and Only God - would sacrifice His One and Only Son - for you. And that through your love for Him, you would lay down your life for your friends - no matter what. You know you are flawed, but that He is able to use you to change lives for eternity. And you have to be convinced in your very soul that your life matters to God - that what you do matters. You have a part in the Big Story of God's reconciling the world to Himself.
If you can see that connection with your own life's walk, then it will be easy to spot it wherever it appears in any variation whether explicitly Christian or not - even in fictional books like the Harry Potter series.
I'm grateful for J.K. Rowling's work, and the treasures I found in The Deathly Hallows. But I'm immeasurably more grateful to the God who through the sacrifice of His sinless Son, gave me freedom from guilt and shame, a purpose for living, and the hope of eternal life with Him, when death will be destroyed and love triumph over all.
Shalom,
David
Sunday, July 15, 2007
It Is What It Is. Is it?
I had a conversation the other day with someone about Valparaiso. We talked about its history, the way the geography slices it up into pieces separated in a way to make each section wholly separate and unrelated - except when the city tax bill comes. That led to further discussion about the other splits in the social fabric.
Older versus younger - we have a number of retirees and a constant flow in and out of young families and singles due to the military base next door.
Richer versus poorer - some of those retirees get by on very little. I know of one older woman whose income is $500 a month. On the other end, there are million dollar homes on the water, boats costing as much as normal houses, and people conspicuous in their consumption.
Military and related versus civilian - Eglin is a huge base with an amazing impact on everything in the area. Many of the people in Valparaiso have direct ties whether military (active or retired) or civilian (civil service or contractor). But there are many who are not in any relation to the base.
Religious versus not - our little town houses several churches, all fairly small, and a larger by far number of people who aren't involved in a community of faith anywhere.
We walked through all those areas together, and I expressed my hope that one day Jesus would allow us to see what Valparaiso could be with people following Him.
"It is what it is", was the reply.
Is it?
Should we accept defeat and just concentrate on loving one another and anyone who happens to walk through the doors at New Hope?
No.
There's very little that ties this forgotten place together except - an elementary school, a middle school, a little league field, and some smaller networks (city employees, businesses, older americans council, DAV, post office) So we will have to work hard and use those networks as our conduits to ministry.
We are commissioning people already in those networks as our ambassadors. Their job is to scout out opportunities for ministry and relationship building. Got two up and running this week. The elementary school - we have a teacher inside who turned us on to two opportunities. teacher move in day - when they come in to get ready; and new teacher needs.
We're going to have 5 teams of three people helping with move in, serve free sandwiches for lunch, and sponsor whatever the new teacher needs to get her class ready. Hope is we get some relationships started and some buzz in the community.
Second opportunity comes from the bank. Lady comes in for a home improvement loan. She can;t afford it. has no insurance either. Loan guy calls me because of a conversation we had. We're doing a home makeover for her while she's on vacation with her sister's help. Again, idea is relationships and buzz.
See we cannot compete with the megas in terms of worship bands, youth programs, facilities etc. So our idea is to work the networks to get our word and work out there and after the investments, to invite and extend Jesus' love.
What do you think? Will it work?
Older versus younger - we have a number of retirees and a constant flow in and out of young families and singles due to the military base next door.
Richer versus poorer - some of those retirees get by on very little. I know of one older woman whose income is $500 a month. On the other end, there are million dollar homes on the water, boats costing as much as normal houses, and people conspicuous in their consumption.
Military and related versus civilian - Eglin is a huge base with an amazing impact on everything in the area. Many of the people in Valparaiso have direct ties whether military (active or retired) or civilian (civil service or contractor). But there are many who are not in any relation to the base.
Religious versus not - our little town houses several churches, all fairly small, and a larger by far number of people who aren't involved in a community of faith anywhere.
We walked through all those areas together, and I expressed my hope that one day Jesus would allow us to see what Valparaiso could be with people following Him.
"It is what it is", was the reply.
Is it?
Should we accept defeat and just concentrate on loving one another and anyone who happens to walk through the doors at New Hope?
No.
There's very little that ties this forgotten place together except - an elementary school, a middle school, a little league field, and some smaller networks (city employees, businesses, older americans council, DAV, post office) So we will have to work hard and use those networks as our conduits to ministry.
We are commissioning people already in those networks as our ambassadors. Their job is to scout out opportunities for ministry and relationship building. Got two up and running this week. The elementary school - we have a teacher inside who turned us on to two opportunities. teacher move in day - when they come in to get ready; and new teacher needs.
We're going to have 5 teams of three people helping with move in, serve free sandwiches for lunch, and sponsor whatever the new teacher needs to get her class ready. Hope is we get some relationships started and some buzz in the community.
Second opportunity comes from the bank. Lady comes in for a home improvement loan. She can;t afford it. has no insurance either. Loan guy calls me because of a conversation we had. We're doing a home makeover for her while she's on vacation with her sister's help. Again, idea is relationships and buzz.
See we cannot compete with the megas in terms of worship bands, youth programs, facilities etc. So our idea is to work the networks to get our word and work out there and after the investments, to invite and extend Jesus' love.
What do you think? Will it work?
Monday, July 09, 2007
I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends
I always felt sorry for Ringo. All the other Beatles were stars, and frankly seemed to have so much more talent than Ringo that you had to wonder why he was there at all. It was years later before I learned that when it came to rock and roll drummers, Ringo was first rate. I guess he just didn't draw attention to himself. For Ringo it was about the band.
But a few years on in the amazing run of the Beatles, the boys let Ringo have a couple of turns at bat. And with "Yellow Submarine" and then my favorite "I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends", Ringo stepped into the spotlight at last. But then just as quickly, he slipped back into his normal place. For Ringo, it was always about the band.
Yesterday was one of "those days" for me. You know the type. Something sets you off course and the dominoes of doom and gloom begin to topple toward you, one after another. I woke up knowing that New Hope was going to be missing at least 5 families. That might not sound like a lot, but these are folks who make a difference in lots of ways. Then we had "technical difficulties" with the copier, with a printer, and I misplaced the "clicker" I use to advance the powerpoint slides. It seemed like it was shaping up to be "one of those days."
And it was. One of those days you remember for a long time, simply because of the people you shared it with.
My first inkling that my "little help from my friends" was on the way was Aaron filling in for Michael Weech on the sounds and video. It was his first time serving there, so he might have had an excuse to be nervous. But when I dropped the news that he would have to change my slides too, it was "no big deal, be glad to."
Then there was our youngest praise team member, the incredible Miss Hope, who favored us again during the songs by joining the praise team. Not quite two, she brings a joy with her when she comes, and prods the rest of us to loosen up and let the Lord lead us. Not to mention she's as cute as can be.
Oh and the Blackmon family gave me a "little help from my friends" too. Romeo, baseball all star and 100% boy, came up with the praise team again and helped us lead worship. His sister Juliet closed the service with a lovely piece on piano as her offering.
That night when we met for small groups, I knew that most all of the men who normally attend wouldn't be there. And when I arrived it was John and Ian Anderson and me. So we shelved the planned discussion and talked about some other things. Ian asked me a question about whether he would wind up as one of those people "let outside the city, like in Revelation" if he liked science. After I answered that with a resounding no, he went on to tell me that he wanted to grow up and be a Christian science fiction writer, and encourage other Christians to write too.
It was at exactly that point that I thanked God for the day and for all the friends who helped me not just get by, but leave praising God for counting me worthy to be the pastor of a church named New Hope and people like these.
Maybe you are in one of those discouragement loops I was in Sunday. Maybe the dominoes of doom and gloom are headed your way. Let me encourage you to look around you and see how many ways God has blessed, is blessing, and will bless you though the people He's placed in your life.
This life was never intended to be a solitary assignment. We were made to trust in God, to follow His Son's example, and to get by with a little help from our friends.
12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.
Eccl 4:12 (NLT)
Thank you Lord Jesus, for the people you've placed in our lives as friends.
Grace!
David Wilson
I always felt sorry for Ringo. All the other Beatles were stars, and frankly seemed to have so much more talent than Ringo that you had to wonder why he was there at all. It was years later before I learned that when it came to rock and roll drummers, Ringo was first rate. I guess he just didn't draw attention to himself. For Ringo it was about the band.
But a few years on in the amazing run of the Beatles, the boys let Ringo have a couple of turns at bat. And with "Yellow Submarine" and then my favorite "I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends", Ringo stepped into the spotlight at last. But then just as quickly, he slipped back into his normal place. For Ringo, it was always about the band.
Yesterday was one of "those days" for me. You know the type. Something sets you off course and the dominoes of doom and gloom begin to topple toward you, one after another. I woke up knowing that New Hope was going to be missing at least 5 families. That might not sound like a lot, but these are folks who make a difference in lots of ways. Then we had "technical difficulties" with the copier, with a printer, and I misplaced the "clicker" I use to advance the powerpoint slides. It seemed like it was shaping up to be "one of those days."
And it was. One of those days you remember for a long time, simply because of the people you shared it with.
My first inkling that my "little help from my friends" was on the way was Aaron filling in for Michael Weech on the sounds and video. It was his first time serving there, so he might have had an excuse to be nervous. But when I dropped the news that he would have to change my slides too, it was "no big deal, be glad to."
Then there was our youngest praise team member, the incredible Miss Hope, who favored us again during the songs by joining the praise team. Not quite two, she brings a joy with her when she comes, and prods the rest of us to loosen up and let the Lord lead us. Not to mention she's as cute as can be.
Oh and the Blackmon family gave me a "little help from my friends" too. Romeo, baseball all star and 100% boy, came up with the praise team again and helped us lead worship. His sister Juliet closed the service with a lovely piece on piano as her offering.
That night when we met for small groups, I knew that most all of the men who normally attend wouldn't be there. And when I arrived it was John and Ian Anderson and me. So we shelved the planned discussion and talked about some other things. Ian asked me a question about whether he would wind up as one of those people "let outside the city, like in Revelation" if he liked science. After I answered that with a resounding no, he went on to tell me that he wanted to grow up and be a Christian science fiction writer, and encourage other Christians to write too.
It was at exactly that point that I thanked God for the day and for all the friends who helped me not just get by, but leave praising God for counting me worthy to be the pastor of a church named New Hope and people like these.
Maybe you are in one of those discouragement loops I was in Sunday. Maybe the dominoes of doom and gloom are headed your way. Let me encourage you to look around you and see how many ways God has blessed, is blessing, and will bless you though the people He's placed in your life.
This life was never intended to be a solitary assignment. We were made to trust in God, to follow His Son's example, and to get by with a little help from our friends.
12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.
Eccl 4:12 (NLT)
Thank you Lord Jesus, for the people you've placed in our lives as friends.
Grace!
David Wilson
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