Who Cares?
Someone once wrote that a preacher should study with the newspaper in one hand and the Bible in the other. I'm sure the idea behind that is to not lose touch with the world, but so many times when I read of the critical needs certain people are in, and the lack of a willingness of anyone to do something about it, I'm moved to ask, "Who cares?"
Today's paper carried a story of a woman who was offering one child for sale in order that she might feed the rest of her children. Such things ought not be. In ancient Israel, God wrote into His laws protection for the poor, the widowed and the fatherless. Pundits point out, when such laws are brought up, that there is no record of Israel actually keeping the laws of Jubilee.
In my readings of the Old Testament, I don't see them doing a very good job keeping a lot of the others either.
People are hurting all around us. Mothers and children are in need. Who cares? God does.
James 5:11 (Msg)
...God cares, cares right down to the last detail.
He cares about that child who'll go to bed hungry in a land of plenty.
He cares about the woman who'll cry herself to sleep.
He cares about the man who fears he'll lose his job of 20 years.
He cares about you... right down to the last detail.
God cares. And you and I can help Him. Find someone you can be God's instrument of compassion or care to. Answer the question with, "God cares, and so do I."
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Sunday, June 27, 2004
Time Is Running Out
Upon receipt of an email from a government official today, I was informed that time was running out for me. You see I got this email from Swaziland that said:
"We have a consignment in our custody valued at $15,000,000.00 USD (Fifteen Million United States Dollars) which was deposited by one of our customers from France. For the past six years it is been recorded in our computer system that the beneficiary of the deposited consignment is dead and up till date we have not received any word from his relatives concerning claims of the deposited consignment.Unless you act immediately, your claim will be forfeit."
How was I supposed to know that my rich and unknown relative had died and left me $15M dollars? Frankly, I am a wee bit skeptical of this since: tracing Wilsons is very difficult (just ask anyone who's done family tree work) and two, all my family together wouldn't have a fraction of that. But if I don't act immediately, my treasure will vanish.
Or will it? No, because it cannot.
2 Cor. 4:7 (Msg)
If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us.
Granted, looking at the wrapper, you'd see just another guy named Wilson, trying to please God, take care of His family, and love people.
2 Cor. 4:16 (Msg)
... Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace.
You see, I have this treasure.
The love of Christ.
And with Him, I will spend eternity. Oh and not one day goes by without His generous love for me giving me more treasure to share. Time isn't running out. I've got all the time in this world and the next one too.
I hope you do too. If I can help you understand how God could love you just as you are, or help you take another step along the way toward Him, write me.
Because unless you have that Christ-treasure, time is running out.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Upon receipt of an email from a government official today, I was informed that time was running out for me. You see I got this email from Swaziland that said:
"We have a consignment in our custody valued at $15,000,000.00 USD (Fifteen Million United States Dollars) which was deposited by one of our customers from France. For the past six years it is been recorded in our computer system that the beneficiary of the deposited consignment is dead and up till date we have not received any word from his relatives concerning claims of the deposited consignment.Unless you act immediately, your claim will be forfeit."
How was I supposed to know that my rich and unknown relative had died and left me $15M dollars? Frankly, I am a wee bit skeptical of this since: tracing Wilsons is very difficult (just ask anyone who's done family tree work) and two, all my family together wouldn't have a fraction of that. But if I don't act immediately, my treasure will vanish.
Or will it? No, because it cannot.
2 Cor. 4:7 (Msg)
If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us.
Granted, looking at the wrapper, you'd see just another guy named Wilson, trying to please God, take care of His family, and love people.
2 Cor. 4:16 (Msg)
... Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace.
You see, I have this treasure.
The love of Christ.
And with Him, I will spend eternity. Oh and not one day goes by without His generous love for me giving me more treasure to share. Time isn't running out. I've got all the time in this world and the next one too.
I hope you do too. If I can help you understand how God could love you just as you are, or help you take another step along the way toward Him, write me.
Because unless you have that Christ-treasure, time is running out.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Pray
Walking up the path to my office this morning, seeing the grounds so well kept by one member, I give thanks to God for his work, and ask God to guard and guide him as he walks along the Journey with Christ.
Glancing to my right, I see the hanging baskets another has given and which bless everyone here with their beauty. She and her husband work here together. He's a real role model for the boys he leads in RA's, and she's a blessing in whatever she places her hand on. They're off on a vacation trip, so I breathe a prayer of intercession for their safe return.
Arriving at my office, yesterday's contacts are still on the monitor before me. One family is coping with the devastation of cancer's onslaught. I stop and pray, asking God to comfort, strengthen, and heal. Another deals daily with the prolonged separation from each other, with the wife in a nursing home, and the husband of decades going home each night to an empty house. Hard work that, after decades as a loving couple together. So I pray.
Oswald Chambers wrote, "the purpose of prayer is to reveal the presence of God."
After thinking through some of the problems that our church family members are dealing with, I'm sure looking for Him.
In reading through the Psalms, two things stand out. First, the writers sure did have a lot of problems. Second, they never lost their focus on God. In the 150 Psalms, the names "Lord" and "God" are mentioned more than 1200 times. Even though some of the Psalms were written during times of great distress, they were able to look past those to God.
So I pray. There's a lot of things a pastor does, but two activities top the list.
Acts 6:4 (Msg)
Meanwhile, we'll stick to our assigned tasks of prayer and speaking God's Word."
I don't have to get to my office to begin. Neither do you.
Pray.
Don't wait.
Pray.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Walking up the path to my office this morning, seeing the grounds so well kept by one member, I give thanks to God for his work, and ask God to guard and guide him as he walks along the Journey with Christ.
Glancing to my right, I see the hanging baskets another has given and which bless everyone here with their beauty. She and her husband work here together. He's a real role model for the boys he leads in RA's, and she's a blessing in whatever she places her hand on. They're off on a vacation trip, so I breathe a prayer of intercession for their safe return.
Arriving at my office, yesterday's contacts are still on the monitor before me. One family is coping with the devastation of cancer's onslaught. I stop and pray, asking God to comfort, strengthen, and heal. Another deals daily with the prolonged separation from each other, with the wife in a nursing home, and the husband of decades going home each night to an empty house. Hard work that, after decades as a loving couple together. So I pray.
Oswald Chambers wrote, "the purpose of prayer is to reveal the presence of God."
After thinking through some of the problems that our church family members are dealing with, I'm sure looking for Him.
In reading through the Psalms, two things stand out. First, the writers sure did have a lot of problems. Second, they never lost their focus on God. In the 150 Psalms, the names "Lord" and "God" are mentioned more than 1200 times. Even though some of the Psalms were written during times of great distress, they were able to look past those to God.
So I pray. There's a lot of things a pastor does, but two activities top the list.
Acts 6:4 (Msg)
Meanwhile, we'll stick to our assigned tasks of prayer and speaking God's Word."
I don't have to get to my office to begin. Neither do you.
Pray.
Don't wait.
Pray.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
We've Found the Weapons of Mass Destruction!
It would be safe I think to say that authors William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway were good at their craft. While they vary in style, the books and short stories that they penned have enlivened the reading of millions of people. Yet I found out today that the two men didn't always value each other's work. Here's a couple of quotes from each.
"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." -William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)
"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?" -Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)
The weapons of mass destruction? Words.
Proverbs 15:4 (Msg)
Kind words heal and help;
cutting words wound and maim.
We can choose what to say, how to respond, whether to build people up with our speech or cut them down. That old rhyme about sticks and stones breaking bones and words never harming us just wasn't true. Who among us doesn't remember someone who hurt us deeply with their words?
For the believer in Jesus, words are part of our example of a changed life.
Col. 3:17 (Msg)
Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.
Every detail - every word. You'll be amazed at the positive impact you can have on people if you'll become a person who encourages others and who speaks words of grace.
You'll be happy to know that Faulkner and Hemingway, though they never became close friends, through a series of letters and meetings, did grow to respect and value one another. Here's what Faulkner said upon hearing of Hemingway's tragic death.
"He is not dead. Generations not yet born of young men and women who want to write will refute that word as applied to him."
Let's use our weapons to build, not destroy.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
It would be safe I think to say that authors William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway were good at their craft. While they vary in style, the books and short stories that they penned have enlivened the reading of millions of people. Yet I found out today that the two men didn't always value each other's work. Here's a couple of quotes from each.
"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." -William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)
"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?" -Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)
The weapons of mass destruction? Words.
Proverbs 15:4 (Msg)
Kind words heal and help;
cutting words wound and maim.
We can choose what to say, how to respond, whether to build people up with our speech or cut them down. That old rhyme about sticks and stones breaking bones and words never harming us just wasn't true. Who among us doesn't remember someone who hurt us deeply with their words?
For the believer in Jesus, words are part of our example of a changed life.
Col. 3:17 (Msg)
Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.
Every detail - every word. You'll be amazed at the positive impact you can have on people if you'll become a person who encourages others and who speaks words of grace.
You'll be happy to know that Faulkner and Hemingway, though they never became close friends, through a series of letters and meetings, did grow to respect and value one another. Here's what Faulkner said upon hearing of Hemingway's tragic death.
"He is not dead. Generations not yet born of young men and women who want to write will refute that word as applied to him."
Let's use our weapons to build, not destroy.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
When Scuffed Up Is Just Right
When I first came to New Hope, as we pulled into the parking lot two things caught my eye and my imagination - just down the street sat Valparaiso Elementary, and just across the street sat the Little League field.
I love baseball. From time to time I find baseballs here at New Hope that have been fouled off across the street and have found their way into our shrubbery. Since many of the games are played at night, finding them apparently is difficult then. So I have a drawer full. :)
Holding one of those takes me back. To my Little League days as a scatter armed pitcher with more speed than control. Particularly if the umpire had given me a new baseball. They were just too perfect, too slippery to use. So you'd try to rub some mud on them, or try to keep one with a couple of scuffs in the game.
Turns out they do that in the big leagues too. A company out of New Jersey supplies river mud (just where from is a closely guarded secret) to every major and minor league time, and has since 1945. Without it, the baseballs are too perfect to use.
Think about that.
Every stitch is in place. The horsehide cover is blemish free. The classic red stitching and white cover - perfect. But it's useless until rubbed in the mud - scuffed up.
Too many of us are wishing and hoping for lives of pure perfection too. Plenty of money, perfect health, successful job, never a care or worry, no grief nor pain. We think if everything were perfect, we'd be happy. Maybe we would be, but we wouldn't be useful.
There was a man once who was perfect. God sent Him here for us.
Hebrews 2:14-18 (Msg)
Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it's logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Devil's hold on death [15] and freed all who cower through life, scared to death of death.
[16] It's obvious, of course, that he didn't go to all this trouble for angels. It was for people like us, children of Abraham. [17] That's why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people's sins, [18] he would have already experienced it all himself all the pain, all the testing and would be able to help where help was needed.
And because he experienced all the grief, the pain, the sufferings that you and I do, he was able to help right where help was needed.
You can too.
Take that pain you have and use it to draw others to God. Share that heartache as you care for another who hurts too. Walk through that valley of suffering and show others how God is faithful. Don't live your life lamenting your imperfections, and don't expect perfection.
Just be available to be used by God as a bridge to your fellow man, just as you are. Scuffed up is just right.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
When I first came to New Hope, as we pulled into the parking lot two things caught my eye and my imagination - just down the street sat Valparaiso Elementary, and just across the street sat the Little League field.
I love baseball. From time to time I find baseballs here at New Hope that have been fouled off across the street and have found their way into our shrubbery. Since many of the games are played at night, finding them apparently is difficult then. So I have a drawer full. :)
Holding one of those takes me back. To my Little League days as a scatter armed pitcher with more speed than control. Particularly if the umpire had given me a new baseball. They were just too perfect, too slippery to use. So you'd try to rub some mud on them, or try to keep one with a couple of scuffs in the game.
Turns out they do that in the big leagues too. A company out of New Jersey supplies river mud (just where from is a closely guarded secret) to every major and minor league time, and has since 1945. Without it, the baseballs are too perfect to use.
Think about that.
Every stitch is in place. The horsehide cover is blemish free. The classic red stitching and white cover - perfect. But it's useless until rubbed in the mud - scuffed up.
Too many of us are wishing and hoping for lives of pure perfection too. Plenty of money, perfect health, successful job, never a care or worry, no grief nor pain. We think if everything were perfect, we'd be happy. Maybe we would be, but we wouldn't be useful.
There was a man once who was perfect. God sent Him here for us.
Hebrews 2:14-18 (Msg)
Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it's logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Devil's hold on death [15] and freed all who cower through life, scared to death of death.
[16] It's obvious, of course, that he didn't go to all this trouble for angels. It was for people like us, children of Abraham. [17] That's why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people's sins, [18] he would have already experienced it all himself all the pain, all the testing and would be able to help where help was needed.
And because he experienced all the grief, the pain, the sufferings that you and I do, he was able to help right where help was needed.
You can too.
Take that pain you have and use it to draw others to God. Share that heartache as you care for another who hurts too. Walk through that valley of suffering and show others how God is faithful. Don't live your life lamenting your imperfections, and don't expect perfection.
Just be available to be used by God as a bridge to your fellow man, just as you are. Scuffed up is just right.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Just the right place to be wrong
On a morning that dawned, or rather clouded and rained, I spent some time waiting for a friend to undergo a procedure. As I watched the people come and go, it dawned on me that there were way too many people with problems in that place. It seemed like every person that came to the sign in desk had something wrong with them and needed help.
And as I watched the staff try to help them, I wondered just how much all this was costing someone - the person, or their insurance, or the taxpayers. The place was real nice. Did they have to spend all that on TV's for the waiting room? That coffee maker over there - it must have cost a bunch. All those machines in the back, those tests, the professionals - my head was swimming just thinking about it.
About that time a young woman came by in a wheelchair, surrounded by family. She was carrying in her arms a newborn baby. On a dark and rainy day, her smile and of all those around her, brightened us all.
Then followed an older woman, also being wheeled outside, whose husband walked beside her in pride and happiness, as if he were escorting a queen. From the looks they shared, he was.
It made me stop and consider just what that place was all about. Even though everyone entering had something that needed care, or something that was wrong with them, it was okay, because they were in just the right place to be wrong.
Reminded me of church.
Romans 3:12 (Msg)
They've all taken the wrong turn;
they've all wandered down blind alleys.
No one's living right;
I can't find a single one.
Everyone that comes through the doors of a church has one thing in common with everyone else. There's something wrong with them. Oh, the maladies may be wildly different, but in the end they are the same. The one who just got there to the one whose been there 50 years. The one who stands up front and preaches, to the one who sits on the back row and sleeps. Lots of time, energy and money are used to create and maintain a place for the sole use of people who cannot seem to ever be cured - they still do things wrong.
That's okay, because all of them are in just the right place to be wrong, if they want to get better. God has whispered a diagnosis, prescribed a treatment, and in order to really get cured, they need to get close enough, regularly enough to be exposed to His love, until it becomes theirs.
Hypocrites? Sure. But trying to get better. Will they take other wrong turns? Absolutely. But they've stopped by to get directions. And every now and then, I get to watch as God finds them and a new child comes into the kingdom. Or I get to see it when someone who was broken is restored through God's amazing grace.
Church is just the right place to be wrong.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
On a morning that dawned, or rather clouded and rained, I spent some time waiting for a friend to undergo a procedure. As I watched the people come and go, it dawned on me that there were way too many people with problems in that place. It seemed like every person that came to the sign in desk had something wrong with them and needed help.
And as I watched the staff try to help them, I wondered just how much all this was costing someone - the person, or their insurance, or the taxpayers. The place was real nice. Did they have to spend all that on TV's for the waiting room? That coffee maker over there - it must have cost a bunch. All those machines in the back, those tests, the professionals - my head was swimming just thinking about it.
About that time a young woman came by in a wheelchair, surrounded by family. She was carrying in her arms a newborn baby. On a dark and rainy day, her smile and of all those around her, brightened us all.
Then followed an older woman, also being wheeled outside, whose husband walked beside her in pride and happiness, as if he were escorting a queen. From the looks they shared, he was.
It made me stop and consider just what that place was all about. Even though everyone entering had something that needed care, or something that was wrong with them, it was okay, because they were in just the right place to be wrong.
Reminded me of church.
Romans 3:12 (Msg)
They've all taken the wrong turn;
they've all wandered down blind alleys.
No one's living right;
I can't find a single one.
Everyone that comes through the doors of a church has one thing in common with everyone else. There's something wrong with them. Oh, the maladies may be wildly different, but in the end they are the same. The one who just got there to the one whose been there 50 years. The one who stands up front and preaches, to the one who sits on the back row and sleeps. Lots of time, energy and money are used to create and maintain a place for the sole use of people who cannot seem to ever be cured - they still do things wrong.
That's okay, because all of them are in just the right place to be wrong, if they want to get better. God has whispered a diagnosis, prescribed a treatment, and in order to really get cured, they need to get close enough, regularly enough to be exposed to His love, until it becomes theirs.
Hypocrites? Sure. But trying to get better. Will they take other wrong turns? Absolutely. But they've stopped by to get directions. And every now and then, I get to watch as God finds them and a new child comes into the kingdom. Or I get to see it when someone who was broken is restored through God's amazing grace.
Church is just the right place to be wrong.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Friday, June 11, 2004
You Can Learn A Lot Here
As the nation pauses to remember our 40th president, Ronald Reagan, things are slow in this military town. Many are off from work, observing a day of mourning.
What I'm remembering today is a phrase full of hope though, that I'll always associate with President Reagan, "It's morning in America." The great communicator was bullish on the future of his beloved nation.
I'm that way about the local church. On days like this, when I can pray and think about what God has done and is doing here, I am overwhelmed with gratitude that He's given me a role in what He does. And during the day to day life of a church, you can discover moment after moment of pure joy.
For example: Wednesday night, the girls who sing in our "New Hope Girl's Worship Team" were having their devotional time. Part of that is to remember the central truth of the Bible lesson they learned the Sunday before. The idea being that if they can remember it three days later, it will stay with them long enough to become a principle.
So last week they learned about Jesus healing ten lepers. Remember?
12 As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance,
13 crying out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"
14 He looked at them and said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, their leprosy disappeared.
15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, "Praise God, I'm healed!"
16 He fell face down on the ground at Jesus' feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, "Didn't I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?
18 Does only this foreigner return to give glory to God?"
19 And Jesus said to the man, "Stand up and go. Your faith has made you well."
Luke 17:12-19 (NLT)
So when the girls were asked to tell the story, the responses were all over the board, but most did remember the central truth... with some modifications in one case.
One girl wrote: "The ten people had "lepotitus.""
And Jesus healed them... anyway.
No matter what you call the need, Jesus can meet it if we go to Him in faith.
Yes, you can learn a lot here. And seeing children grow into mature believers gives me hope for a new morning in America.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
As the nation pauses to remember our 40th president, Ronald Reagan, things are slow in this military town. Many are off from work, observing a day of mourning.
What I'm remembering today is a phrase full of hope though, that I'll always associate with President Reagan, "It's morning in America." The great communicator was bullish on the future of his beloved nation.
I'm that way about the local church. On days like this, when I can pray and think about what God has done and is doing here, I am overwhelmed with gratitude that He's given me a role in what He does. And during the day to day life of a church, you can discover moment after moment of pure joy.
For example: Wednesday night, the girls who sing in our "New Hope Girl's Worship Team" were having their devotional time. Part of that is to remember the central truth of the Bible lesson they learned the Sunday before. The idea being that if they can remember it three days later, it will stay with them long enough to become a principle.
So last week they learned about Jesus healing ten lepers. Remember?
12 As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance,
13 crying out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"
14 He looked at them and said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, their leprosy disappeared.
15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, "Praise God, I'm healed!"
16 He fell face down on the ground at Jesus' feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, "Didn't I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?
18 Does only this foreigner return to give glory to God?"
19 And Jesus said to the man, "Stand up and go. Your faith has made you well."
Luke 17:12-19 (NLT)
So when the girls were asked to tell the story, the responses were all over the board, but most did remember the central truth... with some modifications in one case.
One girl wrote: "The ten people had "lepotitus.""
And Jesus healed them... anyway.
No matter what you call the need, Jesus can meet it if we go to Him in faith.
Yes, you can learn a lot here. And seeing children grow into mature believers gives me hope for a new morning in America.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Vacations and Vocations
Mark 6:30-31 (Msg)
The apostles then rendezvoused with Jesus and reported on all that they had done and taught. [31] Jesus said, "Come off by yourselves; let's take a break and get a little rest." For there was constant coming and going. They didn't even have time to eat.
Ever been that way? So busy that you didn't even have time to take a break to eat? That's not the Jesus way folks. On a regular basis, Jesus withdrew from the crush of His vocation and rested and renewed.
The late Vance Havner said, "If you do not come apart, you'll come apart."
It's still true today. During these hot summer months, take time to look at all the activities you've stuffed into a day, and make sure that you're not missing those times of renewal and restoration. Worship regularly, and make time for God in your personal devotions. Come apart from the world, or you will come apart.
Grace!
David Wilson'
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Mark 6:30-31 (Msg)
The apostles then rendezvoused with Jesus and reported on all that they had done and taught. [31] Jesus said, "Come off by yourselves; let's take a break and get a little rest." For there was constant coming and going. They didn't even have time to eat.
Ever been that way? So busy that you didn't even have time to take a break to eat? That's not the Jesus way folks. On a regular basis, Jesus withdrew from the crush of His vocation and rested and renewed.
The late Vance Havner said, "If you do not come apart, you'll come apart."
It's still true today. During these hot summer months, take time to look at all the activities you've stuffed into a day, and make sure that you're not missing those times of renewal and restoration. Worship regularly, and make time for God in your personal devotions. Come apart from the world, or you will come apart.
Grace!
David Wilson'
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Thursday, June 03, 2004
For Best Results, Keep Free from Interference
We have a DSL connection here at the church, and normally it works pretty well. The ability to go through large amounts of information in a hurry really helps me in researching sermons, and the speed it gives us in downloading means Bible studies and other resources are a snap to receive.
Except when it isn't working well. Like this week. I'd be hard at work trying to find more information on a passage of scripture's context, or illustrative material to help shed light on what that scripture means for today, when suddenly the internet just would stop working.
When that occurred, I'd have to go to the church office where all the electronics reside, and reset all the devices. After a few times, I decided it was time to get help. So I emailed our provider to ask what I could do to fix it. I gave them all the situational details, info about our system and waited to hear their response.
When it came, I couldn't help but laugh.
"Please ensure that your modem is not near any of the following devices: your PC, printers, scanners, fluorescent lights, copiers, telephones, cell phones, hubs and switches, or any other electrical device that might cause interference."
Hmm... It was two feet from a printer, sitting on a hub, three feet from a copier, four from a telephone, three from a PC, a foot from a router, and I had my cell phone in my pocket. Oh and the lights? Fluorescent.
Guess we'll have to build a room on the roof just to house the modem.
Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it.
There's no way a perfect place for that can be found, and still do what we need to do with it. No way to be completely free of interference, and still be in a working office. That's unrealistic.
Yet when you think about it, there are people even within our churches who want exactly that complete freedom from interference before they will serve, before they will commit their lives to following Christ in helping their churches live out His purposes. Talking to several pastors over the last few weeks produced a chorus of examples of interference.
- One pastor said, "The music has to please them. Could be hymns, could be choruses. Could be solos, could be choir. But know this, if it isn't what they like, you'll get interference, and they won't "worship"."
- Another pointed out, "The preaching has to please them. Wrong version of Scripture. Too long. Too short. Too many illustrations. Not enough. Whatever the reason, if it isn't delivered the way they like it, don't expect them to listen."
- And another said, "The people have to please them. Too many old people. Not enough. Too many young people. Not enough. Too formal. Too casual. Too friendly. Not enough. If the atmosphere that surrounds them isn't just right, how can you expect them to "worship"?"
Not with all that -- Interference.
Sounds to me as though a lot of that interference could be cleared up with a simple movement of the receiver to their knees.
Pride and self-preference, or getting our way. That's the real interference, and we've got to ruthlessly eliminate it from our lives. Anytime the spirit of this age tempts us to seek our way, our preferences instead of just desperately seeking God and the fulfillment of His purpose - reaching people, we've got to fall to our knees and seek to see, hear, and feel nothing except the presence of God.
It's past time.
John 4:23 (Msg)
But the time is coming it has, in fact, come—when what you're called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.
"It's who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship.
"Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth."
For best results in that pursuit, keep yourself free from interference. Stay humble and flexible and willing to meet God wherever He is moving.
Remember. It's not about you.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
We have a DSL connection here at the church, and normally it works pretty well. The ability to go through large amounts of information in a hurry really helps me in researching sermons, and the speed it gives us in downloading means Bible studies and other resources are a snap to receive.
Except when it isn't working well. Like this week. I'd be hard at work trying to find more information on a passage of scripture's context, or illustrative material to help shed light on what that scripture means for today, when suddenly the internet just would stop working.
When that occurred, I'd have to go to the church office where all the electronics reside, and reset all the devices. After a few times, I decided it was time to get help. So I emailed our provider to ask what I could do to fix it. I gave them all the situational details, info about our system and waited to hear their response.
When it came, I couldn't help but laugh.
"Please ensure that your modem is not near any of the following devices: your PC, printers, scanners, fluorescent lights, copiers, telephones, cell phones, hubs and switches, or any other electrical device that might cause interference."
Hmm... It was two feet from a printer, sitting on a hub, three feet from a copier, four from a telephone, three from a PC, a foot from a router, and I had my cell phone in my pocket. Oh and the lights? Fluorescent.
Guess we'll have to build a room on the roof just to house the modem.
Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it.
There's no way a perfect place for that can be found, and still do what we need to do with it. No way to be completely free of interference, and still be in a working office. That's unrealistic.
Yet when you think about it, there are people even within our churches who want exactly that complete freedom from interference before they will serve, before they will commit their lives to following Christ in helping their churches live out His purposes. Talking to several pastors over the last few weeks produced a chorus of examples of interference.
- One pastor said, "The music has to please them. Could be hymns, could be choruses. Could be solos, could be choir. But know this, if it isn't what they like, you'll get interference, and they won't "worship"."
- Another pointed out, "The preaching has to please them. Wrong version of Scripture. Too long. Too short. Too many illustrations. Not enough. Whatever the reason, if it isn't delivered the way they like it, don't expect them to listen."
- And another said, "The people have to please them. Too many old people. Not enough. Too many young people. Not enough. Too formal. Too casual. Too friendly. Not enough. If the atmosphere that surrounds them isn't just right, how can you expect them to "worship"?"
Not with all that -- Interference.
Sounds to me as though a lot of that interference could be cleared up with a simple movement of the receiver to their knees.
Pride and self-preference, or getting our way. That's the real interference, and we've got to ruthlessly eliminate it from our lives. Anytime the spirit of this age tempts us to seek our way, our preferences instead of just desperately seeking God and the fulfillment of His purpose - reaching people, we've got to fall to our knees and seek to see, hear, and feel nothing except the presence of God.
It's past time.
John 4:23 (Msg)
But the time is coming it has, in fact, come—when what you're called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.
"It's who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship.
"Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth."
For best results in that pursuit, keep yourself free from interference. Stay humble and flexible and willing to meet God wherever He is moving.
Remember. It's not about you.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Swords, Shovels, and Bridal Gowns
Watching TV last night, I saw an account of the D-Day invasion. During those fateful days, American paratroopers dropped into French towns and hoped to liberate them from the Nazi invaders. In some cases they were immediately successful, but in others, they were not. One French town cared for many of the Americans. When the Germans counterattacked, the GI's were forced to leave almost everything behind and flee for safety.
After the war, times were hard for the French people. Food was scarce, but they wanted to return to a normal life. One couple wanted to get married, but couldn't afford a wedding dress. Then they remembered the parachute one GI had stuffed into a corner of their home.
Voila!.
That reminded me...
Isaiah 2:4 (Msg)
He'll settle things fairly between nations.
He'll make things right between many peoples.
They'll turn their swords into shovels,
their spears into hoes.
No more will nation fight nation;
they won't play war anymore.
What a great scrap of Scripture that is! Don't you long for that day, when God will finally bring peace to our world? When that happens, the instruments of war will be changed into tools for peace.
Maybe even wedding gowns.
Pray for that day's soon coming.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Watching TV last night, I saw an account of the D-Day invasion. During those fateful days, American paratroopers dropped into French towns and hoped to liberate them from the Nazi invaders. In some cases they were immediately successful, but in others, they were not. One French town cared for many of the Americans. When the Germans counterattacked, the GI's were forced to leave almost everything behind and flee for safety.
After the war, times were hard for the French people. Food was scarce, but they wanted to return to a normal life. One couple wanted to get married, but couldn't afford a wedding dress. Then they remembered the parachute one GI had stuffed into a corner of their home.
Voila!.
That reminded me...
Isaiah 2:4 (Msg)
He'll settle things fairly between nations.
He'll make things right between many peoples.
They'll turn their swords into shovels,
their spears into hoes.
No more will nation fight nation;
they won't play war anymore.
What a great scrap of Scripture that is! Don't you long for that day, when God will finally bring peace to our world? When that happens, the instruments of war will be changed into tools for peace.
Maybe even wedding gowns.
Pray for that day's soon coming.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Tremors
At first I wasn't sure what it was. It felt like a big truck going by, but then I realized I was no where near the highway, in fact I was in our company's corporate HQ. Then the books started falling off the shelf above my head, and I had to get up. When I did, for a moment it felt like I was surfing. All the people who made the SF Bay area their home looked at me kind of funny. None of them had even moved.
"Did you feel that?", I asked.
"Yeah, but you get used to it," one replied.
Right then and there, I thanked Almighty God for placing me in Middle Georgia, and asked Him to please, please, please see me safely back home. He did.
I was thinking about that event today when I read this verse..
Jeremiah 5:3 (Msg)
But you, God,
you have an eye for truth, don't you?
You hit them hard, but it didn't faze them.
You disciplined them, but they refused correction.
Hardheaded, harder than rock,
they wouldn't change.
Have you felt a tremor lately?
Has something within you seemed not quite right? The things that used to bring you joy, do them still have that effect? Or are they lifeless?
It could just be that you need to examine your faith and practice. Maybe there is a disconnect between what you say you believe and how you really live. Oh, it probably wasn't something you decided to do one day, just the result of a series of little compromises. And now, you haven't felt God move in your heart in a long, long, time.
Friend, draw near to God and He'll draw near to you. Go to Him in prayer, and ask Him to soften your heart, and wash it clean, giving you a new desire to follow Him. It's never too late.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
At first I wasn't sure what it was. It felt like a big truck going by, but then I realized I was no where near the highway, in fact I was in our company's corporate HQ. Then the books started falling off the shelf above my head, and I had to get up. When I did, for a moment it felt like I was surfing. All the people who made the SF Bay area their home looked at me kind of funny. None of them had even moved.
"Did you feel that?", I asked.
"Yeah, but you get used to it," one replied.
Right then and there, I thanked Almighty God for placing me in Middle Georgia, and asked Him to please, please, please see me safely back home. He did.
I was thinking about that event today when I read this verse..
Jeremiah 5:3 (Msg)
But you, God,
you have an eye for truth, don't you?
You hit them hard, but it didn't faze them.
You disciplined them, but they refused correction.
Hardheaded, harder than rock,
they wouldn't change.
Have you felt a tremor lately?
Has something within you seemed not quite right? The things that used to bring you joy, do them still have that effect? Or are they lifeless?
It could just be that you need to examine your faith and practice. Maybe there is a disconnect between what you say you believe and how you really live. Oh, it probably wasn't something you decided to do one day, just the result of a series of little compromises. And now, you haven't felt God move in your heart in a long, long, time.
Friend, draw near to God and He'll draw near to you. Go to Him in prayer, and ask Him to soften your heart, and wash it clean, giving you a new desire to follow Him. It's never too late.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Friday, May 28, 2004
What's That?
Had a conversation with my buddy William Hobbs the other night. It's always fun to talk to William, because at just past two, he's still working out this whole communication deal. You have to listen really intently, and be aware of what he's trying to tell you, and then just maybe you'll get it.
But friends, William doesn't miss a thing. He wanted to see inside the water meter Wednesday night, so naturally I had to make that happen. When he saw the dial for the meter he said "What's that?" Trying to explain what the meter was and how it works was beyond my ability. So I handed him a baseball. (My sales training kicked in- don't know the answer? Distract them!)
He looked at me, grinned his biggest William smile, and said "Ball!"
You'd think we didn't do this every week. :)
I was reading today and came across this verse.
Psalm 118:23-25 (Msg)
This is God's work.
We rub our eyes—we can hardly believe it!
[24] This is the very day God acted—
let's celebrate and be festive!
[25] Salvation now, God. Salvation now!
Oh yes, God—a free and full life!
If you stop, really stop, and consider all God's blessings in your life, you'll have trouble believing it too. Take a minute and remember what it was like to be a child - full of wonder and amazement at the world God created.
Now listen...
What's that?
Another heartbeat, another testimony of God's love for you.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Had a conversation with my buddy William Hobbs the other night. It's always fun to talk to William, because at just past two, he's still working out this whole communication deal. You have to listen really intently, and be aware of what he's trying to tell you, and then just maybe you'll get it.
But friends, William doesn't miss a thing. He wanted to see inside the water meter Wednesday night, so naturally I had to make that happen. When he saw the dial for the meter he said "What's that?" Trying to explain what the meter was and how it works was beyond my ability. So I handed him a baseball. (My sales training kicked in- don't know the answer? Distract them!)
He looked at me, grinned his biggest William smile, and said "Ball!"
You'd think we didn't do this every week. :)
I was reading today and came across this verse.
Psalm 118:23-25 (Msg)
This is God's work.
We rub our eyes—we can hardly believe it!
[24] This is the very day God acted—
let's celebrate and be festive!
[25] Salvation now, God. Salvation now!
Oh yes, God—a free and full life!
If you stop, really stop, and consider all God's blessings in your life, you'll have trouble believing it too. Take a minute and remember what it was like to be a child - full of wonder and amazement at the world God created.
Now listen...
What's that?
Another heartbeat, another testimony of God's love for you.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Do You Have Any Identification?
As I grew from boy to man on 40 acres of undeveloped land, I enjoyed the finest in entertainment activities.
I could ride a bike, climb trees, have nuclear war with my brother (using the approved weapons of course - the dirt clod, the chinaberry or plum, and the dreaded hickory nut), shoot BB guns, play baseball and football, and just have a good time. Later on when we were older, we rode motorcycles, played church softball and basketball, and went hunting and fishing.
We have few if any pictures to look at and reflect on those times we had. We had school pictures, Easter and Christmas pictures, but none of the two of us just living.
But I do have a physical way of remembering many of the things that happened in my life through the years. They are always with me. During the time of the Vietnam war draft, they served as my identification - what made me different than any of the other 18 year old boys worried about going off to war. Of course I've added new ones since then, life goes on after all. Now every now and then I happen to rub or scrape one and I'm brought back to the day it happened - to exactly what I was doing, just how it felt, what others did to help me, and how it all turned out. What were they?
My scars.
If the draft board had come looking for me, they'd have picked me out of a crowd by my scars.
We're looking at ministry this week as we study the Purpose Driven Life, and so I picked up on Paul's reluctance to be drawn off into side issues - issues of practice, not of faith. People had come to the church in Galatia saying that faith in Christ wasn't enough. You needed a "badge" to let the world know.
Paul let them know how they could tell he followed Christ.
Galatians 6:17 (Msg)
Quite frankly, I don't want to be bothered anymore by these disputes. I have far more important things to do—the serious living of this faith. I bear in my body scars from my service to Jesus.
Scars.
Jesus had said, "They will know you are my disciples by your love for one another." But loving one another is risky business. Even in ministry, people can hurt one another so deeply it leaves scars. Someone once told me "I've never been hurt as badly or as often than at church."
Friends, I've been there and done that. I could dwell on those, keep rubbing those scars, and get nothing done. Or I could thank God that He counted me worthy to be His ambassador for Christ and stay in the game.
I won't be called on to write any New Testament books, but in the serious living of this faith, I'm with Paul. If you've been hurt, wounded, even scarred while trying to serve Christ, just count your scars as a measure of identification.
When the Master comes looking for His disciples, you'll be easy to spot.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
As I grew from boy to man on 40 acres of undeveloped land, I enjoyed the finest in entertainment activities.
I could ride a bike, climb trees, have nuclear war with my brother (using the approved weapons of course - the dirt clod, the chinaberry or plum, and the dreaded hickory nut), shoot BB guns, play baseball and football, and just have a good time. Later on when we were older, we rode motorcycles, played church softball and basketball, and went hunting and fishing.
We have few if any pictures to look at and reflect on those times we had. We had school pictures, Easter and Christmas pictures, but none of the two of us just living.
But I do have a physical way of remembering many of the things that happened in my life through the years. They are always with me. During the time of the Vietnam war draft, they served as my identification - what made me different than any of the other 18 year old boys worried about going off to war. Of course I've added new ones since then, life goes on after all. Now every now and then I happen to rub or scrape one and I'm brought back to the day it happened - to exactly what I was doing, just how it felt, what others did to help me, and how it all turned out. What were they?
My scars.
If the draft board had come looking for me, they'd have picked me out of a crowd by my scars.
We're looking at ministry this week as we study the Purpose Driven Life, and so I picked up on Paul's reluctance to be drawn off into side issues - issues of practice, not of faith. People had come to the church in Galatia saying that faith in Christ wasn't enough. You needed a "badge" to let the world know.
Paul let them know how they could tell he followed Christ.
Galatians 6:17 (Msg)
Quite frankly, I don't want to be bothered anymore by these disputes. I have far more important things to do—the serious living of this faith. I bear in my body scars from my service to Jesus.
Scars.
Jesus had said, "They will know you are my disciples by your love for one another." But loving one another is risky business. Even in ministry, people can hurt one another so deeply it leaves scars. Someone once told me "I've never been hurt as badly or as often than at church."
Friends, I've been there and done that. I could dwell on those, keep rubbing those scars, and get nothing done. Or I could thank God that He counted me worthy to be His ambassador for Christ and stay in the game.
I won't be called on to write any New Testament books, but in the serious living of this faith, I'm with Paul. If you've been hurt, wounded, even scarred while trying to serve Christ, just count your scars as a measure of identification.
When the Master comes looking for His disciples, you'll be easy to spot.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Take Over!
Weak. I'm feeling pretty weak today. Maybe I should have gotten a hint of what was ahead when as I walked down the road away from our home this morning, a dryer sheet fell out of my pant's leg. Then later, the sinus infection that plagued me the day before reacquainted itself, and a recurring kidney problem reminded me it still knew my name.
Yep, I'm feeling pretty weak.
I sort of feel like the young lady on her first solo after winning her driver's license. She came around a corner and was immediately confronted by a mass of spinning and smoking cars all across the road ahead of her. Being a Christian, she knew she had to rely on God to take care of her, so she took her hands off the wheel and said out loud, "You take it Lord!"
Never did hear how that turned out.
But since I have work to do, I did ask God to take over. To use my weakness today to teach me about Him - about His mercy and His grace. And He lead me to this passage.
2 Cor. 12:9 (Msg)
...He told me,
"My grace is enough; it's all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness."
Paul had a physical problem that wouldn't go away, no matter how much he begged God to remove it. Finally, He realized that the ailment was the least of his problems. Paul understood that he couldn't let himself focus on what was wrong with him. Instead, he had to focus on what was right with God.
He just let God take over.
It's the end of the day here, and everything except the dryer sheet is still with me. But you know, it's been especially good to be with God today in the study of His Word.
What about you? Are you spending all your energies focusing on what is wrong? Why not take a minute right now and begin thanking God for all the things that are right in your life? Go as deep as you need to. But don't stop until your focus has shifted to Him. Then let Him take over.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Weak. I'm feeling pretty weak today. Maybe I should have gotten a hint of what was ahead when as I walked down the road away from our home this morning, a dryer sheet fell out of my pant's leg. Then later, the sinus infection that plagued me the day before reacquainted itself, and a recurring kidney problem reminded me it still knew my name.
Yep, I'm feeling pretty weak.
I sort of feel like the young lady on her first solo after winning her driver's license. She came around a corner and was immediately confronted by a mass of spinning and smoking cars all across the road ahead of her. Being a Christian, she knew she had to rely on God to take care of her, so she took her hands off the wheel and said out loud, "You take it Lord!"
Never did hear how that turned out.
But since I have work to do, I did ask God to take over. To use my weakness today to teach me about Him - about His mercy and His grace. And He lead me to this passage.
2 Cor. 12:9 (Msg)
...He told me,
"My grace is enough; it's all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness."
Paul had a physical problem that wouldn't go away, no matter how much he begged God to remove it. Finally, He realized that the ailment was the least of his problems. Paul understood that he couldn't let himself focus on what was wrong with him. Instead, he had to focus on what was right with God.
He just let God take over.
It's the end of the day here, and everything except the dryer sheet is still with me. But you know, it's been especially good to be with God today in the study of His Word.
What about you? Are you spending all your energies focusing on what is wrong? Why not take a minute right now and begin thanking God for all the things that are right in your life? Go as deep as you need to. But don't stop until your focus has shifted to Him. Then let Him take over.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Letters that touch the heart
Just a routine visit to the post office this morning really made me think.
As I parked my car, I pulled into the space beside a pickup. In it, there was a man whose white hair and wrinkled face told of many years of toil. Getting out and passing by him, I noticed that he held some notebook papers in his hands, and the folds that creased the pages were full of blue inked script. On the dashboard lay the envelope, with the familiar APO postmark telling of a trip from a person in military service somewhere.
He looked up, and though we never exchanged a word, I could tell that if I'd have offered him the riches of Midas for that letter, it wouldn't have been enough. I made my way to the PO Box and back, and when I got back in my car, that letter was still in his hands.
What did it say?
I don't know. But one thing it did say was obvious. I'm still alive, I still remember you, and you matter enough for me to take the time to write. It reminded me of a letter, written by an aged man to people he loved as his children, telling them about the One who first loved.
1 John 5:13-15 (Msg)
My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God's Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. [14] And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he's listening. [15] And if we're confident that he's listening, we know that what we've asked for is as good as ours.
Please know this - if you are a believer, then the Spirit of the Living God is alive within you.
1 John 4:16-17 (Msg)
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, so that we're free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ's.
God wants to lead you away from a life of fear and into a life of love's full freedom. You may not be there yet - don't give up! Keep learning about God - keep asking Him for more of His presence in your life. It will happen.
1 John 4:18 (Msg)
There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.
Do this - commit yourself to writing a letter each day to God. Call it a journal, call it a diary, whatever you want, but in it, write God your heart's desires, fears, and tell Him where you are and what you want your relationship with Him to be.
When you are that real, that open and honest with God - you'll touch His heart. Picture Him in heaven, reading your letter. Can you see the look on His face?
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Just a routine visit to the post office this morning really made me think.
As I parked my car, I pulled into the space beside a pickup. In it, there was a man whose white hair and wrinkled face told of many years of toil. Getting out and passing by him, I noticed that he held some notebook papers in his hands, and the folds that creased the pages were full of blue inked script. On the dashboard lay the envelope, with the familiar APO postmark telling of a trip from a person in military service somewhere.
He looked up, and though we never exchanged a word, I could tell that if I'd have offered him the riches of Midas for that letter, it wouldn't have been enough. I made my way to the PO Box and back, and when I got back in my car, that letter was still in his hands.
What did it say?
I don't know. But one thing it did say was obvious. I'm still alive, I still remember you, and you matter enough for me to take the time to write. It reminded me of a letter, written by an aged man to people he loved as his children, telling them about the One who first loved.
1 John 5:13-15 (Msg)
My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God's Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. [14] And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he's listening. [15] And if we're confident that he's listening, we know that what we've asked for is as good as ours.
Please know this - if you are a believer, then the Spirit of the Living God is alive within you.
1 John 4:16-17 (Msg)
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, so that we're free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ's.
God wants to lead you away from a life of fear and into a life of love's full freedom. You may not be there yet - don't give up! Keep learning about God - keep asking Him for more of His presence in your life. It will happen.
1 John 4:18 (Msg)
There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.
Do this - commit yourself to writing a letter each day to God. Call it a journal, call it a diary, whatever you want, but in it, write God your heart's desires, fears, and tell Him where you are and what you want your relationship with Him to be.
When you are that real, that open and honest with God - you'll touch His heart. Picture Him in heaven, reading your letter. Can you see the look on His face?
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Sundae School
Have you ever tried NOT to think of something? Aggravating how it just keeps popping into your head, isn't it? Today for some reason, hot fudge sundaes popped into my head. (And yes, I'm on a diet, but I'm ALWAYS on a diet and haven't had ice cream in years.)
No matter how I tried, I found myself thinking about ice cream - vanilla ice cream - bathed in warm chocolate syrup and filling a cup to almost overflowing. My aunt and uncle used to own a Dairy Queen, so I'm no stranger to them. But in order to divert attention from the need for a sundae, I decided to see how they came to be.
What I found was that they were developed to break the law.
Around the turn of the century, "Blue Laws" were in place across much of the US. These were laws that governed what a person could not do on Sunday. They ranged from inconvenient to onerous. In some places, children's swings had to be tied up. In others, only books of a religious nature could be read. And in Virginia, soda drinks could not be consumed on the Sabbath.
One store owner grew weary of lost sales and decided to do something about it. He could serve ice cream, but not sodas, so he developed the idea of pouring hot fudge over ice cream. He was so tickled with himself and his creation, he named it the "Sunday", but changed the name when locals claimed it sacrilegious - so he changed it - to Sundae.
It reminded me again about when Jesus was confronted about Sabbath breaking.
Matthew 12:7 (Msg)
If you had any idea what this Scripture meant—'I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual'—you wouldn't be nitpicking like this.
Friends, following Jesus on the Journey is a lot less about following rules and a lot more about following Jesus closely. Just give God your heart, mind and soul, and dedicate everyday to making Him smile.
Now about that sundae......... :)
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Have you ever tried NOT to think of something? Aggravating how it just keeps popping into your head, isn't it? Today for some reason, hot fudge sundaes popped into my head. (And yes, I'm on a diet, but I'm ALWAYS on a diet and haven't had ice cream in years.)
No matter how I tried, I found myself thinking about ice cream - vanilla ice cream - bathed in warm chocolate syrup and filling a cup to almost overflowing. My aunt and uncle used to own a Dairy Queen, so I'm no stranger to them. But in order to divert attention from the need for a sundae, I decided to see how they came to be.
What I found was that they were developed to break the law.
Around the turn of the century, "Blue Laws" were in place across much of the US. These were laws that governed what a person could not do on Sunday. They ranged from inconvenient to onerous. In some places, children's swings had to be tied up. In others, only books of a religious nature could be read. And in Virginia, soda drinks could not be consumed on the Sabbath.
One store owner grew weary of lost sales and decided to do something about it. He could serve ice cream, but not sodas, so he developed the idea of pouring hot fudge over ice cream. He was so tickled with himself and his creation, he named it the "Sunday", but changed the name when locals claimed it sacrilegious - so he changed it - to Sundae.
It reminded me again about when Jesus was confronted about Sabbath breaking.
Matthew 12:7 (Msg)
If you had any idea what this Scripture meant—'I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual'—you wouldn't be nitpicking like this.
Friends, following Jesus on the Journey is a lot less about following rules and a lot more about following Jesus closely. Just give God your heart, mind and soul, and dedicate everyday to making Him smile.
Now about that sundae......... :)
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Friday, May 14, 2004
Feedback
What do you think of when you hear the word "feedback"?
If you're a musician, you immediately relate to that high pitched and annoying squeal that results from the sound recording or playing device being placed too near the speakers.
If you are in marketing, or some other discipline that involves activities and responses, you'd relate that feedback is what you need to know if you are hitting your goals.
If you're an Ebay'er, you think of the comments given by sellers and buyers after a transaction has concluded.
I recently purchased an item on Ebay, and after the sale, the buyer sent me details about the shipment and then he wrote " I leave feedback for people who leave feedback for me."
That was more like feedback in the first sense to me. It sort of annoyed me - he did - then the fact that I got annoyed - annoyed me again. It made me stop, and prayerfully consider.
Is that the way we should act? Should we return in kind what we receive, and get what we want before we give what others need? While I was stewing over his self-serving comment, a verse popped into my head.
Luke 6:35 (Msg)
"Help and give without expecting a return. You'll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we're at our worst."
God loves me today - even though I got up ornery.
God loves me today - even though I rushed past Him on my way to work.
God loves me today - even though I'm struggling just to glimpse what I'm supposed to be.
God loves me - just as I am, even at my worst - generously and graciously.
So what I've got to do, is to give everyone some feedback, through my everyday, walking around worship of God through my life - through my interaction with people.
God's always right, we all know that. How many times have you ever really regretted a kind act to an unkind person?
And how many times have you regretted __being__ that unkind person?
Break the feedback cycle. Stop the squeal of battered lives and broken people.
Love. Because He first loved us.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
What do you think of when you hear the word "feedback"?
If you're a musician, you immediately relate to that high pitched and annoying squeal that results from the sound recording or playing device being placed too near the speakers.
If you are in marketing, or some other discipline that involves activities and responses, you'd relate that feedback is what you need to know if you are hitting your goals.
If you're an Ebay'er, you think of the comments given by sellers and buyers after a transaction has concluded.
I recently purchased an item on Ebay, and after the sale, the buyer sent me details about the shipment and then he wrote " I leave feedback for people who leave feedback for me."
That was more like feedback in the first sense to me. It sort of annoyed me - he did - then the fact that I got annoyed - annoyed me again. It made me stop, and prayerfully consider.
Is that the way we should act? Should we return in kind what we receive, and get what we want before we give what others need? While I was stewing over his self-serving comment, a verse popped into my head.
Luke 6:35 (Msg)
"Help and give without expecting a return. You'll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we're at our worst."
God loves me today - even though I got up ornery.
God loves me today - even though I rushed past Him on my way to work.
God loves me today - even though I'm struggling just to glimpse what I'm supposed to be.
God loves me - just as I am, even at my worst - generously and graciously.
So what I've got to do, is to give everyone some feedback, through my everyday, walking around worship of God through my life - through my interaction with people.
God's always right, we all know that. How many times have you ever really regretted a kind act to an unkind person?
And how many times have you regretted __being__ that unkind person?
Break the feedback cycle. Stop the squeal of battered lives and broken people.
Love. Because He first loved us.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Who Knew?
If you ever went to Sunday School and didn't learn the song about the "wee little man", you missed one of the catchiest tunes ever. Funny how you can forget everything you ever learned about quadratic equations, but remember tune and verse of that song about Zacchaeus.
When I read the story, I am always amazed at what an "out of the box" effort Zacchaeus made. I mean who is the last person you'd expect to want to meet Jesus? No, I'm serious. Think of that person you know who you think would never seek out Jesus. Zacchaeus was like that. He was completely outside God's will. But God loves people like that too and hasn't given up - just like he didn't with that "wee little man".
Zacchaeus. Rich, powerful, successful, well connected, self-sufficient. But missing something, and aware of it. So aware, that when a life-changing possibility happens, he won't miss it, even if it means looking and acting foolish. A grown man, climbing a tree? But in order to see Jesus, he was willing to do whatever it took.
5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. "Zacchaeus!" he said. "Quick, come down! For I must be a guest in your home today."
6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy.
People like Zacchaeus sit in their beautiful homes, surrounded by everything that they thought was their heart's desire. They make it a practice not to care what people think about them, and live in a way to let everyone know it.
But some know the truth - that it is all meaningless without a purpose for living. And so they look for one. I've been at yard sales in wealthier areas down here and seen every type of book on religion, mysticism, and spirituality for sale for a buck, stacked in a cardboard box.
I wonder if they've ever been willing to push past their preconceived notions about the claims of Jesus Christ? If they'd only listen. God's calling their name.
He'll exchange their trash for His treasures. He'll replace their doubts and fears with His Truth and courage. He'll help them understand what really matters in this life isn't money, or success, but knowing God and being loved by Him.
I can just hear Zacchaeus saying, "Who knew life could be this good?"
Jesus knew. It's why He came, and why He's still calling the lost to come home to God's love.
And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost."
Luke 19:1-10 (NLT)
Listen! He's calling your name!
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
If you ever went to Sunday School and didn't learn the song about the "wee little man", you missed one of the catchiest tunes ever. Funny how you can forget everything you ever learned about quadratic equations, but remember tune and verse of that song about Zacchaeus.
When I read the story, I am always amazed at what an "out of the box" effort Zacchaeus made. I mean who is the last person you'd expect to want to meet Jesus? No, I'm serious. Think of that person you know who you think would never seek out Jesus. Zacchaeus was like that. He was completely outside God's will. But God loves people like that too and hasn't given up - just like he didn't with that "wee little man".
Zacchaeus. Rich, powerful, successful, well connected, self-sufficient. But missing something, and aware of it. So aware, that when a life-changing possibility happens, he won't miss it, even if it means looking and acting foolish. A grown man, climbing a tree? But in order to see Jesus, he was willing to do whatever it took.
5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. "Zacchaeus!" he said. "Quick, come down! For I must be a guest in your home today."
6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy.
People like Zacchaeus sit in their beautiful homes, surrounded by everything that they thought was their heart's desire. They make it a practice not to care what people think about them, and live in a way to let everyone know it.
But some know the truth - that it is all meaningless without a purpose for living. And so they look for one. I've been at yard sales in wealthier areas down here and seen every type of book on religion, mysticism, and spirituality for sale for a buck, stacked in a cardboard box.
I wonder if they've ever been willing to push past their preconceived notions about the claims of Jesus Christ? If they'd only listen. God's calling their name.
He'll exchange their trash for His treasures. He'll replace their doubts and fears with His Truth and courage. He'll help them understand what really matters in this life isn't money, or success, but knowing God and being loved by Him.
I can just hear Zacchaeus saying, "Who knew life could be this good?"
Jesus knew. It's why He came, and why He's still calling the lost to come home to God's love.
And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost."
Luke 19:1-10 (NLT)
Listen! He's calling your name!
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Whatever
Col. 3:17 (Msg)
Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.
"Whatever"
Thought there was some wiggle room there, didn't you? No, if you weren't pinned to the mat by "every detail", then you were body slammed by "whatever." God really intends for His children to live ever conscious of whose they are.
That means not only restraint in speech, or in actions, but in what you hear and see.
“The ultimate freedom we have as human beings is the power to select what we will allow or require our minds to dwell upon.” Dallas Willard
We have freedom to watch, to listen, to eat and drink whatever we choose. And it's by those choices that we can evaluate just how far along the journey to Christ-like character we have come. The person who wants to please God will measure everything by what God has said. And they will fill their lives with things that remind them of a higher way.
Toward the end of his life, Albert Einstein removed the portraits of two scientists (Isaac Newton and James Maxwell) from his wall. He replaced them with portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and Albert Schweitzer. Einstein explained that it was time to replace the image of success with the image of service.
Have you reached the point where you care more about what God thinks than anyone else? What images are you placing in front of you?
1 Cor. 10:31 (GW)
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything to the glory of God.
"Whatever"
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Col. 3:17 (Msg)
Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.
"Whatever"
Thought there was some wiggle room there, didn't you? No, if you weren't pinned to the mat by "every detail", then you were body slammed by "whatever." God really intends for His children to live ever conscious of whose they are.
That means not only restraint in speech, or in actions, but in what you hear and see.
“The ultimate freedom we have as human beings is the power to select what we will allow or require our minds to dwell upon.” Dallas Willard
We have freedom to watch, to listen, to eat and drink whatever we choose. And it's by those choices that we can evaluate just how far along the journey to Christ-like character we have come. The person who wants to please God will measure everything by what God has said. And they will fill their lives with things that remind them of a higher way.
Toward the end of his life, Albert Einstein removed the portraits of two scientists (Isaac Newton and James Maxwell) from his wall. He replaced them with portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and Albert Schweitzer. Einstein explained that it was time to replace the image of success with the image of service.
Have you reached the point where you care more about what God thinks than anyone else? What images are you placing in front of you?
1 Cor. 10:31 (GW)
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything to the glory of God.
"Whatever"
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Family Matters
To get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with.Mark Twain
One boy has his eyes crossed. Another sticks out his tongue. Little girls pose demurely, a father seems to stand on tiptoes to be seen behind his daughters. It's picture time at New Hope.
Our friend Doug Fannon is collecting and taking pictures for a project we have underway here at New Hope - a pictorial directory. So he's been taking pictures for weeks now of families and individuals. He's also taken pictures of events here like baptisms and our choir and worship teams singing.
Bunny and I had a chance to look at those pictures today and we really came away with a good feeling. Five years ago this week, I met with a member of the search committee from a church in a town I had never heard of. Valparaiso.
The story she told wasn't a pretty one. Pastoral failure never is. I can remember the three of us walking back to our car in shock. But something about the church began to grab at my heart, and five years later, it still does.
Looking at those pictures, it was wonderful to see how the kids have grown. It was also great to see pictures of families that have been here forever alongside those who have more recently come. Doug said he'll take pictures as long as we need him to, and I hope we keep growing so he'll need to revise the directory several times a year.
Our study in the Purpose Driven Life (the basis for the 40 Days of Purpose) this week is all about family - God's family. If you are tracing your family tree, you look for lineage ties that bind people together through surnames. If you are looking at what holds the church family together...
Ephes. 4:16 (Msg)
He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.
It's all God.
He keeps us in step by giving us His unchanging Word to guide our path.
He gives us life through His Holy Spirit's presence.
He sees that we grow by putting us together with other believers to share our heartaches and our joys.
Then just like Bunny and I did when we saw how much the New Hope kids and family have grown, God stands back and grins with a heart full of love.
Friend, your church family matters. Don't miss a moment of family time.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
To get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with.Mark Twain
One boy has his eyes crossed. Another sticks out his tongue. Little girls pose demurely, a father seems to stand on tiptoes to be seen behind his daughters. It's picture time at New Hope.
Our friend Doug Fannon is collecting and taking pictures for a project we have underway here at New Hope - a pictorial directory. So he's been taking pictures for weeks now of families and individuals. He's also taken pictures of events here like baptisms and our choir and worship teams singing.
Bunny and I had a chance to look at those pictures today and we really came away with a good feeling. Five years ago this week, I met with a member of the search committee from a church in a town I had never heard of. Valparaiso.
The story she told wasn't a pretty one. Pastoral failure never is. I can remember the three of us walking back to our car in shock. But something about the church began to grab at my heart, and five years later, it still does.
Looking at those pictures, it was wonderful to see how the kids have grown. It was also great to see pictures of families that have been here forever alongside those who have more recently come. Doug said he'll take pictures as long as we need him to, and I hope we keep growing so he'll need to revise the directory several times a year.
Our study in the Purpose Driven Life (the basis for the 40 Days of Purpose) this week is all about family - God's family. If you are tracing your family tree, you look for lineage ties that bind people together through surnames. If you are looking at what holds the church family together...
Ephes. 4:16 (Msg)
He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.
It's all God.
He keeps us in step by giving us His unchanging Word to guide our path.
He gives us life through His Holy Spirit's presence.
He sees that we grow by putting us together with other believers to share our heartaches and our joys.
Then just like Bunny and I did when we saw how much the New Hope kids and family have grown, God stands back and grins with a heart full of love.
Friend, your church family matters. Don't miss a moment of family time.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
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