It Adds Up

It's not one bad day that ruins a career, or one hasty word that kills a relationship. But it's the little things left undone, or the careless words and inattentiveness that, over time, can spell death to things you value, that you care deeply about. That affect people you love.

It's the little things. Lack of little things turn into bad big things.

And things break...

Think about your most important relationship - the one with God. How are you doing on the little things?

If any of us - you, me - anybody - sinned only ten times a day from our tenth birthday to our sixtieth--and keep in mind we're not just talking about rape, pillage, and murder, but the full range - lying, cheating, stealing, and we are including our heart attitudes and motives—what would our rap sheet look like with only 10 sins a day for 50 years?

We'd have piled up 182,500 infractions of the law.

Now let's say that many of us have broken the law and gotten off with a warning. Maybe it was speeding, and the officer checked you out and decided that it was just an isolated failure of judgement, and let you off with a written, or even a verbal warning.

That still leaves 182, 499 times you blew it. So you are going to court.

What judge in his right mind would turn you loose with a record like that?

That's why it is so important to examine yourself and see if you are living what you say you believe. It's not about believing in God - even satan does. It's about loving God so much that you want to do not just the big things, but the little ones too. So every now and then you have to step away from the vehicle and get the big picture. Here's how David, king of Israel did it.

1Generous in love--God, give grace! Huge in mercy--wipe out my bad record.

2Scrub away my guilt,

soak out my sins in your laundry.

3I know how bad I've been;

my sins are staring me down.



4You're the One I've violated, and you've seen

it all, seen the full extent of my evil.

You have all the facts before you;

whatever you decide about me is fair.

5I've been out of step with you for a long time,

in the wrong since before I was born.

6What you're after is truth from the inside out.

Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.



7Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,

scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.

8Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,

set these once-broken bones to dancing.

9Don't look too close for blemishes,

give me a clean bill of health.

10God, make a fresh start in me,

shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life. Psalm 51 - The Message


A fresh start... Lord. Hear our prayers. Be Who You are. Our rock, our fortress, our deliverer. Wash us clean and give us freedom not to repeat the past.

A Genesis week - yes!

Grace!

David
www.newhopevalp.org

Chariot Sticker Faith

An astronomer and a theologian were flying next to each other on an airplane. The astronomer smugly turned to his seatmate and said: "You know, there is no need for all those millionsA of volumes of religious literature. The whole essence of religion can be summed up in one simple phrase: 'Love thy neighbor, as thyself,'" whereupon the theologian retorted, "And the whole science of astronomy can be summed up in the simple phrase, 'Twinkle, twinkle, little star.'"

One of the habits that hasn't changed in the history of mankind is our tendency to try to reduce the complex into a simple saying that will fit on a bumper sticker. We are studying the Ten Commandments on Wednesday night just now, and I learned today that some Jews tried to use them as a "bumper sticker".

In the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, the Ten Commandments was always proclaimed before the Shema. Strangely enough, however, outside the Temple, however, the practice was banned. The rabbis felt that though the Ten Commandments helped give people a rough outline, the real picture of God came from reading the whole Torah - memorizing it and applying it.

What about us? Are we guilty?

Most people, when asked about the good news of Jesus will quote John 3:16.

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life

John 3:16 (NLT)

As great as that verse is, it only begins to describe our riches in Christ Jesus. There is so, so, so much more.

Take 10 minutes tomorrow and read the story of God's love. You can even begin in John. :)

Grace!

David Wilson
www.newhopevalp.org

PESS - Post Easter Stress Syndrome

Just wondering today how many pastors have this ailment after Easter.

Easter is huge, just about everywhere. You gear up everything at your church for it, get your folks to invite their friends. The music ramps up a notch, the preacher tries doubly hard to reach those who only come on days like this.

Then...

The week after races along, and it may be Friday, but Sunday's coming... again.

Some of my friends begin sermon series' deliberately on Easter Sunday so as to pull people along for the ride. The other benefit I can see from that is that it also gives the preacher a clear trail to follow.

I'm really trying to preach Jesus these days, and though I did skip ahead to the resurrection last week, I'll be rolling back into Mark in Chapter 9 Sunday morning.

There's so much more to what Jesus gave us than just freedom from the fear of death. Learning how to LIVE like Jesus is the really tough part, and I'm hoping that by exposing Jesus as He lived the life people will catch what He was teaching. (If I can get out of the way.)

So what's haunting me about Sunday's passage is that Jesus used a little child to explain to the disciples what real faith was like. I wonder what that child remembered.

Hmmm... I see a devotional coming later today.

Grace!

David
www.newhopevalp.org

After Easter - Growth Is NOT An Option

After Easter, thousands of pastors all over either bask in the glow of what God did on Easter Sunday, or pray to find what happened. I'd be in the latter group. One thing is very clear though, for the people we have been given to care for, growth in Christ is not an option.

A deeper church requires deeper members. Those members have to be equipped and empowered to live the life and to spread the contagion that is the Way. We have some tools to do that with, and today and this week will be prayer and planning the next wave of small groups.

Easter

Reports of Easter being the preacher's favorite day are greatly overrated - at least from an effectiveness point of view. No doubt the resurrection is the awesome power of God being released for us, and at the very core of our faith.

But for effectiveness at reaching the lost, it stinks.

The best way I can relate it to you is that the lost prep for Easter like my Mother prepped me for a trip to Atlanta in the 3rd grade. By the time we got onboard that train, I was confident that Atlanta held nothing but kidnappers and pickpockets, so I was to stick to the teacher like glue and keep my hand over my wallet at all times. I was so busy doing that, I think I might have missed something.

I think those who come on Easter that are lost or missing have the same mindset. They are there for people they care about, and just trying to make it through with their lack of faith intact. Not exactly "seekers" more like "avoiders" or "deflectors". They've had years to perfect their craft. Not impossible to reach, but toughened.

Every Easter, I take the "hill" like a bullpen closer who has been brought in with no one out, the bases loaded, and Murderer's Row up to bat. Do you craft a message out of where you are in the Scriptures at the moment and ignore the day, or do you tackle the issues around the resurrection head on. Every year I say I'm not preaching on the resurrection and every year I do. What's that definition of insanity again?

This year I tried to wrap the facts into people's lives. Tried to present enough head-candy to shock the smug, and enough heart to do what I do. Who knows what happened. It wasn't a Billy Graham moment, that's for sure.

Thing is, it comes off as forced - everything does - the music, the greeters, the preaching - everything - because everyone knows - "It's Easter." So forgive me, but I'm glad Easter is over and I can go back to focus on making disciples.

"Seek the truth."

So I'm reading about the next grave threat to the foundations of the church - "The Da Vinci Code". Just watched the trailer in fact. Great scenery, wonderful casting - should be a great summer movie. Given the amazing claims the book makes without any hard evidence though, I laughed out loud when, as the trailer ended, a quote appeared on a black screen "Seek the truth."

Oh, if people would.

All we can do as pastors and teachers is to help people find the truth. We cannot create the desire for truth, nor can we cause people to apply what truth they know.

All these "faith-shaking" new gospels and fictional histories do is make me more and more determined to preach Jesus.

That's the Truth.

Work that Rolodex

Christians might sometimes act all "ho-hum" about Easter, but the folks at GetReligion have correctly shown that satan hasn't.

Work that Rolodex

"Well, the Judas Gospel story, the one that was supposed to shake the foundations of Christianity, seems to have passed away rather quickly. Christianity was similarly unfazed by the week’s reports that Jesus walked on an ice floe — not water, that he wasn’t crucified in the manner in which people think, and that Jesus’ father was a Roman soldier named Pantera, not Joseph. Let’s see if Christianity implodes under the allegation that Jesus didn’t die on the cross so much as pass out after being doped up."

Mapping Religions

Very interesting map of the concentrations of different religions within the United States. I expected a lot of it, I mean I knew there were a lot of Baptists in TX and Lutherans in MN, but the Muslim and Jewish ones were a surprise.

Take a look here. Maps

To Blog, Or Not To Blog

That's a picture of my wife Bunny and our big friend Henley, the Great Dane. They are standing on Bayshore Drive, which coincidently happens to run along the bay shore. I also have a son here named Sean, an older son names Adam who lives in Byron GA, and we have another dog - a mini schnauzer named Ellie.

Back home in Macon, my father, who's 86, has just finished his last round of chemo and is waiting anxiously on a scan May 8th to tell him how much longer he'll live. My father in law suffered a stroke a few years ago, and walks around with a defibrillator in his chest. It's been going off lately way too often.

Our last day in this house is July 31, and we're busy hunting for somewhere to move to. We'd like to stay here in Valparaiso, but homes are scarce unless you want a dump or a mansion, and tell them you have dogs, and people freak out. Folks say "buy a house, why are you renting?" We can afford, according to Ginnie Mae, $150,000 worth of home, in a market where the average home is $225,000. Oh and because the church has taken just a wee bit longer to get going than we thought, we've had to use credit to stay afloat. And now that we are getting some of that back, the new rent will most likely stop that.

Oh, and our worship leader is almost certainly leaving as well as one of our associate pastors. Replacing either will be a God thing.

So if I don't blog everyday, let me point to the above and say that I have a few other things going on. :)

And I am going to love watching God sort all this out for us. :)

Grace!

David

Holy Week

I'm preparing today for our Good Friday service of shadows. For me, it is the most moving service of the year - no other comes close. Reading the prophecies and passages wherein Messiah was brutalized for our sins just gets to me every time I read them - even in preparation.

The service we do is an adaptation of a centuries old service called Tenebrae. We begin with communion, to establish ourselves in community. The lights are on, though reduced, the candles are lit along the sides of the sanctuary. Then once communion is over, we extinguish the lights and the rest of the worship is with the candles only.

As the passages of prediction are read, one by one the candles are extinguished, until only one remains - the Christ candle. With the reading of Psalm 22, that one too is snuffed out, and the service abruptly closes and people depart in darkness.

The music, on the years when we use it, is mournful, or expressive of His sacrifice in our stead. Some years we don't use any. Last year, we used a video of "The Last Painting", where an artist paints a picture of Jesus on the cross, but because you only see parts of it during the playing of the video, you don't realize what it is until the end. Set to music from the Passion of the Christ, it is a violent shock to the senses as the artist paints with only his hands.

I have some other video I can use, and am still working on which ones. I'm also thinking about shaking things up by having the readers within the congregation, equipped with small flashlights to be able to see to read - and maybe have the singers sing from the lobby instead of the front.

We want this to be emotional.
We want to help people feel the sheer weight of their sins.
We want them to realize the full price that was paid for those sins.

So that when Sunday comes, they understand.

Grace!

David

Community

I'm a member of a few online communities. They are basically organized around activities or affinities for certain things. Guitars, cars, ecology, birds, and church work are just a few that I am a part of. I also moderate a group on Yahoo that helps people keep things out of landfills by offering them to one another.

Out of all those, which ones do you think would have the most trouble among members?

The two that are about helping people. Why is that?

The Deeper I Go, the Deeper It Is

For the last year or so, I've been digging. After a lifetime of studying the New Testament, I'm finding out more about it by studying the Old. It began when I heard a Rob Bell video, and it's accelerated ever since. I'm even thinking about going back and studying Hebrew.

Putting the New Testament in context. That's basically why it is fascinating me.

So much of Jesus' sayings and doin's, as Clarence Jordan would have put it, rest in the culture of the time in which He lived. Subjects like divorce and Torah were talked about in rabbinical schools and marketplaces like immigration and Iraq are today at the coffee house. We come into the gospels, see Jesus teaching apart from that context, and we only hear one side of the conversation. The Truth side to be sure, but why did He say that? What was going on in society? Learning about the OT really opens it up.

Some of the places that I regularly go for help in this on the internet are:

Follow the Rabbi
Ray VaderLaan's site opens the Bible with great OT insight.

Jesus Through Jewish Eyes

iTanakh

Ancient Hebrew Research Center

There's more, but that will give you a start.

David

The Mars Hill After Action Report

Many pastors find that keeping their family spiritually healthy is a real challenge. Yes, I've heard all the deacon and pastor's kids jokes, but remember, behind the laughter are the tears.

This week, my 27 year old son, our oldest, came down to spend a few days before he begins a new job. First, let me tell you that there is no way to explain to you how much my wife and I love him. He was a pure joy to have as a child. The biggest problem we ever had with him growing up was his taking chemistry as a senior in HS because he liked the teacher, and then because it wasn't at all interesting - flunking it. For 18 years of life, that's it.

The first few years of his life were pretty good. I had a good job, we had money, and we spent a lot on him. His brother came along, and we still had a nice life. But when he was 12, I was called into the ministry.

During the next few years, we went from naive to schooled on just what really happens in church. He saw it all. Then when we moved here, because he had friends there and a job, we left him. Broke our hearts, but we were following a call.

Now he's 27, bright, articulate, and completely lost to anything of the faith he embraced and was raised in. So while he was here, Bunny and I tried to get some God into his life. It was maddeningly difficult.

When he left, Bunny cried. Because he left? Yes, but mainly because he is missing.

When I hear one of the churched folks complain about "why don't we sing the old hymns", or "why can't we do things like we used to", I always think of Adam and people like him. One of my goals in the ministry is to help create a church that pastor's kids would be proud to be a part of. So much of the meanness that we pastors let go of seems to stick with our family.

He's home now. I'm here. God please help me help him. God please send others there to help him find his way back to you.

Wonder if Paul felt this way after Mars Hill?

Why In the World?

Would anyone want to work in a church?

Quote by Ray Pritchard about the church and work in it.

"Why would anyone want to go into the ministry when you see how churches treat people?"

My answer was simple. You go into the ministry because God called you, and you stay there because the joy of seeing lives changed by the power of God outweighs the trouble you will inevitably face. It's a matter of relative values. I am not "down" on the local church in any way, shape or form. The church of Jesus Christ is still the best hope of the world. Though filled with fallible men and women who make many mistakes (leaders included), the church is the body of Christ on earth, the temple of the Holy Spirit, the pillar and ground of the truth, and the guardian of the Good News of Jesus. The church (not the building or the organization, but the people as the redeemed children of God) is the place where sinners are saved, broken people are made whole, and the life of Jesus is made visible to the watching world.

If you focus on the problems of the local church, you'll probably stop going and you'll certainly resign from the ministry. But if you look at what God is doing, you'll smile and say, "This is the best place in the world."

Laying It Down

We've been here going on 7 years. In that time, we've seen a lot of the people God has given us to care for. I've been with them as loved ones passed away, and as new children and grandchildren were born. We've laughed at weddings together and cried at funerals. I've visited some in jail, and seen their workplaces.

The longer I'm here, the harder it is in one critical way.

You grow to love them.

You have to understand, I'm a private person. My family wasn't a huggy kissy group. I never wanted anyone, except Bunny and the kids, to get close. But these people have.

They drive you crazy with the way some of the same sins they were caught in 6 years ago trap them again and again. You agonize when you give them good counsel from Scripture and they ignore it. You want the best for them, and when you see them fall it hurts.

It has got to be easier just to change churches every couple of years.

I find myself agreeing with Jesus when He says "How much longer...; or are you still so dull."

And yet, when I pray, I see their faces. And I realize they need more of Jesus. Then I pray for Him to help me, help them.

Look Again

This past Sunday morning, I talked in the message about an incident Jesus had with a blind man.

They arrived at Bethsaida. Some people brought a sightless man and begged Jesus to give him a healing touch. 23Taking him by the hand, he led him out of the village. He put spit in the man's eyes, laid hands on him, and asked, "Do you see anything?"

24He looked up. "I see men. They look like walking trees." 25So Jesus laid hands on his eyes again. The man looked hard and realized that he had recovered perfect sight, saw everything in bright, twenty-twenty focus. 26Jesus sent him straight home, telling him, "Don't enter the village."

Mark 8 - The Message


What's unique about this passage is that Jesus, who had healed many with one touch, even some merely by His words - even at some distance - Jesus took two touches to heal this blind man.

Or did he?

Jesus was in the middle of a long series of instructional encounters for His disciples. He was trying to help them understand Who He was, why He was here, what the Kingdom of God was all about. But they just weren't getting it. Even after twice feeding thousands of people miraculously, Jesus was frustrated because the first thing the disciples did when they were hungry was gripe.

So I believe Jesus was using the blind man to teach the disciples something.

But what? Where's the clue?

The man looked hard and realized that he had recovered perfect sight, saw everything in bright, twenty-twenty focus.

Look again. When the man did, he realized just what he had received from Jesus.

Friends, I preached the message Sunday and wasn't happy with it. I really felt like I hadn't explained what Jesus was trying to do very well. Even as I laid down for a nap that afternoon, I was still disturbed. So I'm writing this to you today out of the Spirit's compulsion. Before I could go to sleep, I had to write a note to pen this devotional. I got clear direction from God.

It wasn't audible - don't freak out on me. And no 400 foot tall Jesus appeared on the side of the bed.

But as sure as I am that I'm typing this, the Holy Spirit told me "Tell them to look again."

Look again - at how incredibly blessed we are to have a Savior in Jesus who loves us so much he Himself would pay the price for our sins.

Look again - at the fact that even after His sacrifice, His concern was that we be able to stay close to Him, so He sent the Holy Spirit to come alongside us - leading us, guiding us, and yes, comforting us in our fears.

Look again - at just how much God has done for you and me.

It's not that Jesus' power is unable to make a difference in our lives.

It is that we are unwilling to focus exclusively on Him and His will for our lives. When we look at men - at the world - our vision will always be blurred.

But when we focus our heart's attention on Jesus... there is Hope. There is peace. There is JOY!!!!!!!!

Look again.


Grace!

David Wilson
www.newhopevalp.org

The beast in me is caged by frail and fragile bars.
Johnny Cash

We went and watched "Walk the Line" a few weeks ago. Johnny Cash was one of those things that you take for granted growing up, assuming that they will always be there. Now he's not. Just when the world realized what a treasure we had. His video of "Hurt" filmed in the months before he died was the most raw video I have ever seen.

He was a man who had horrendous flaws in his character. And he didn't excuse them away. His understanding led him to turn away from his strength - that frail and fragile strength - to search for something more than fame and success. He turned to faith in Jesus.

Funny thing was, he once had been a regular attender. It was easy. "You went every week, put in your time, and went home. But nothing changed. You still lived the same way during the week."

It wasn't until Johnny had almost lost it all, had contemplated taking his own life - that He and God "got back together."

How well I have learned that there is no fence to sit on between heaven and hell. There is a deep, wide gulf, a chasm, and in that chasm is no place for any man.
Johnny Cash

Thank God that Johnny was able to have the time he needed to come home - to get off the fence and leave that chasm behind forever. There must be millions though still stuck there.

They saw a man dressed in black. And yet, inside him, was the Light.

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. 2 Corinthians 4:7 - The Message

Friends, it's never too late to let God take over. Incomparable power is there if you'll just let go, seek forgiveness, and turn toward God.

Grace!

David Wilson
www.newhopevalp.org

Wear and Tare

One of the toughest things about trying to transition a church from death to life is staying positive. So many things are operating on a razor's edge of competency in a small church anyway, but a small church trying to change just amps that up off the scale.

And when you think you can finally relax in an area, it always seems that God sends another challenge. Right now, we're in a holding pattern because of our worship leader's flirtation with moving to another church. I'm 100% for following God wherever He leads, but it's been a week since he went and led music there and we still don't know if he's leaving or not. Great guy, not his fault, but that's one of the things that wears on me as I look forward - is the music going to improve, or fall back.

Then there's the tare.

If I had a $20 bill for every time one of the older members mentions hymns, I could take everyone who will ever read this out to eat. Lady comes up today and hands me an article titled "Some Contemporary Churches Embrace Old Hymns". Now remember, we are a church that does hymns - did four today. But we don't do ALL hymns. I thanked her for the article, mentioned our blend...

Then she proceeded to tell me about her son's church where they had two services- one traditional and one contemporary. "See the pastor wore a suit and tie in the first and he took off the coat and tie in the contemporary." Hmm... what should the pastor who doesn't wear a suit respond to that?

It just wears on you.

I'm convinced that people like her, who cannot see our efforts to reach out to her as well as those not in church, who will accept nothing except a rollback to 1970 - are tares. They don't love Jesus - cause they don't love His church. They want THEIR CHURCH. And the war is never, ever over, even if the church has doubled in size, people are being discipled, and the pastor and wife are laying their lives on the line everyday to make God proud.

Sigh.............

Another vote for church planting.

I am the crab man

Yeah Baby!

It's the crustatecean nation.

Can't tell I'm finished with the sermon ppt. :)

Quote of the Day

Quote of the day:

"If you don't go to church, which fewer than half of Americans do each week, would hymns appeal to you? The lyrics are written in formal English, using out-of-date terms, and the melodies are usually slow and accompanied by a somber organ. I like hymns, but to use them to the exclusion of modern Christian music is like driving an old car cross-country with a Best of Bee Gees tape stuck in the eight-track player. It's OK for a little while, but you'll end up bitter." -Brent Castillo for Knight-Ridder Newspapers

HT - the Wesley Blog

Maybe It's Just Me But...

• Percentage of McDonald's franchises that did not sell a hamburger last year: 0%
• Percentage of Ace Hardware stores that did not sell a hammer last year: 0%
• Percentage of Salvation Army outlets that did not help a needy person last year: 0%
• Percentage of state universities that did not educate a student last year: 0%
• Percentage of airlines that did not fly a plane last year: 0%
• Percentage of WalMarts that did not sell merchandise last year: 0%

So let's say you're a church, and aren't making disciples. You are not seeing people move out into the deep, or kneeling to serve, or you see people still trapped in the same sins they came into the Body with.

Are you really Great Commission Christians? Can you still call yourselves a church?

Reason I ask is because I read a guy explaining how hard it was going to be to tell the 5 - yes I wrote 5 - little old ladies that make up his church that they should sell the building and move where they might possibly, someday, reach someone else for Christ.

That's a hard decision? Maybe for you.

Not me.

"Here I Come To Save the Day!"

If you are a pastor - avoid this syndrome.

Some Things Start Out Well, But...

Notice that the manufacturers of the hand dryers used in restrooms around the world have now had to add an icon telling people not to dry their hair with them.

Having been on the internet since it began, I am feeling the same way about that great tool. Use it, but be warned - it can be used in the wrong way - and it can hurt!

Just surf over to MySpace and you'll see a good thing corrupted. Great idea, but fallen humanity can ruin any of those.

So if you're a pastor, or youth leader - you'd better know what your folks are REALLY doing. I'm rarely shocked anymore, but I was.

If you're a parent reading this, I'd strongly suggest blocking MySpace, or if you don't, insisting that your kids not mark their blogs private. You need to know.

So what keeps me sane?

 

An everyday walk around the bayou with my big friend. 

Waaaaaaaaaaay outside the comfort zone

Well, today was something else.

Our worship guy was off candidating for a new gig, his fill-in was sick, so I wound up leading a much abbreviated worship set. Then we went right into the message. During that, our church dog barked so loud everyone woke up. Funny, I was just about to talk about dogs (Mark 7).

Tonight our associate pastor led us through a "stations of the DVD" experience, using an I Worship DVD as the framework for a sort of sermon on worship. It was interesting. Still processing whether it had the effect he was looking for. We had talked about breaking te sermon into pieces (ala RW) and having more interaction.

The interaction was there with scripture readings but I'm not sure the sermon was. It seemed to me like more of a presentation than a message. There were definite high points, and I was moved by some of the songs, but I never really felt like we got into the texts - just flashed on them and moved on.

But we tried some things, and if we failed, we'll know not to do that again.

Life in the fast lane. :)

Grace!

David

Never quit on Sunday

It's late Sunday night - the close of another week here. During the week I've prayed over the names of those in the congregation, I've prepared and delivered two small group teachings and one Sunday sermon. There have been conversations long and short with the people God has given me to care for, and time spent together working Saturday on the church's appearance. In other words, a full week has passed.

Now at the end, I look back and wonder...

What if he had summoned the courage to admit he needed Jesus? What if she had decided to give Him her heart? What would that family look like if God had been made the head of it? And how awesome it could have been if the church had been moved to change.

Without omniscience, all I can do is my best and trust God.

Then today, our worship leader, a young man with both talent and a great heart for God, was talking to a church nearer his home about becoming their worship guy. How hard it is to find someone like that in a church our size. What will we do to replace him, when it took months to find him just two years ago? How will the everpresent traditionalists react? Will I have to fight that battle again?

All I can do is trust God. Yes, I'm practicing what I preach.

In Him

In between trying to come to grips with what Sunday's Scripture is saying to people today, I took a moment to look around my study. What I saw were a couple of thousand books, assorted decorations, and labels.

It seems everything in here is labeled.

Whether it's the publisher's name on the spine of the book, the "Intel Inside" on the PC, IBM on the laptop, even "Pilot" on the pen, everything around me is labeled so those examining them might be able to see who the manufacturer was.

For a while today, I lost my label.

I let the pressures, stress, and just my own old selfish and self-centered personality out. Nothing earthshattering or illegal, but nothing that would have caused anyone who witnessed it to label me as a Christ follower either. I've been forgiven, but the reality of how easy it was for me to lose it lingered, even in here.

How to get it back? I opened my Bible to this passage.

17And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. 18And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. 19May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:17-19

and I listened to this song.

You dance over me
While I am unaware
You sing all around
But I never hear the sound

Lord I’m amazed by You
Lord I’m amazed by You
Lord I’m amazed by You
How You love me

How wide
How deep
How great
Is Your love for me

Music and lyrics by Jared Anderson
© 2004 Vertical Worship Songs
CCLI# 4221021

It took some time, but I got there. I'm so very thankful for God's mercy and His grace, and I continue to be amazed He'd want His label on me. But with Jesus, all things are possible. In Him.

For you too, beloved.

Grace!

David Wilson
www.newhopevalp.org

You Have To Play the Lottery To Win It

If there's one area that has been a thorn in my side almost all the years I have been in ministry, it's church finances. Specifically the lack of them, and the tendency of those who administer them to completely lose faith in God's provision. I think the reason Jesus often left the disciples and went into the wilderness was because someone was reading the financial report line by line.

Should God see fit to make me a millionaire, I'd set up a blind trust for the church with a requirement that no one with the "gift of administration" every came near it.

Forgive me, but I'm tired of hearing "we need to wait on God to supply what we need before we step out in ministry." Whatever happened to faith? In almost seven years at my present church, we have had times where we were hardpressed, but we were never abandoned by God. I could give story after story of how God provided in sometimes miraculous ways just at the right time. Somehow those always get forgotten though, when the lean times come.

For anyone reading this who works in the financial area of their church, here me now and believe me later - You have to use faith in order to see God at work, just as you have to play the lottery to win it.

Gotta run - the jackpot is up to 40 million and if I win it, I get to keep my subscription to Outreach magazine.

Grace!

David

Listen!

Sometimes I'm such a poor listener. My awesome wife was telling me today that she wasn't feeling well. She said "I don't feel very well today." I commented "You might be coming down with something. I kind of feel like I am."

She gently reminded me, "but we weren't talking about you."

Point to Bunny. I had rushed right past on my way to the "World of Me"

A case in point toward an understanding of just how poorly we listen might be Moses. Did you remember what it took to get his attention?

1One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he went deep into the wilderness near Sinai, the mountain of God. 2Suddenly, the angel of the LORD appeared to him as a blazing fire in a bush. Moses was amazed because the bush was engulfed in flames, but it didn't burn up. 3"Amazing!" Moses said to himself. "Why isn't that bush burning up? I must go over to see this."

(Now be sure and note the next verse) - David

4When the LORD saw that he had caught Moses' attention, God called to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!"

Even the Lord had trouble catching the attention of a man with nothing to look at every day but wilderness and sheep.

Our attention is so often distracted by the events of the day, or of pressing needs we feel only we can solve, that many times we get caught up in the "World of Me", where if we can't make it happen, it won't. The "World of Me" doesn't really leave room for God to act like He did with Moses. No, our world and our success in it, depends on us.

I have a word translated painstakingly from the original languages for that sort of thinking.

Baloney.

God can do more. He can do exceedingly more. God can do exceedingly more than we can ask or imagine. The world renowned theologian Shel Silverstein wrote this:
Listen to the MUSTN'TS, child,
Listen to the DON'TS
Listen to the SHOULDN'TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON'TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me -
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.
[from Where the Sidewalk Ends]

Friends, just because you're caught up right now in a "World of Me" where you can't hear God, doesn't mean He's not speaking. Stop your struggling. Cease your schemes.

Listen! God can do! And He's thrilled to bless His children.

Grace!

David Wilson
www.newhopevalp.org

Caught and Taught

This past week, I didn't have anything going on, so I decided to go to our decon's meeting... okay, I always go - but nothing usually happens. But this time, we were finished talking about our assigned families and their needs, when our chairman, a much beloved man of 80 years, asked if we were through.

Now in churches past, I'd have shivered in anticipation of some bombshell being dropped, like "pastor, a lot of people have told me..."

But what he said was, "Men, we need to wear our name badges each Sunday, so visitors will feel more comfortable in a place where they don't know anyone. We need to make every effort to know them, and have them know us as their newest friends."

I was blown away.

Yes, I wear my badge on a lanyard every single time we gather. Yes, I had suggested/asked the staff to do the same, but not a one has done it consistently. Yet here was this deacon - a man who wears a suit to church when his pastor wears hawaiian shirts and khakis, who sings praise songs (sort of), but reserves his loudest voice for the hymns that only occasionally come - catching what I had been trying to say for a year.

He connected, and used his influence to bring others along.

One the hardest things for me is to wait for others to come along. Everything I do is bathed in prayer and out of a genuine belief that it is exactly what God wants us to do. Doesn't mean I'm infallible - LOL - but it means I'm trying desparately to follow God and be an example of a man sold out to Him. And when I don't see others follow, I get tired of waiting. But I'm learning. Learning that sometimes the ones you want to follow simply need to see your heart in their context.

And when it happens - WOW!

Grace!

David

From New Hope, With Love

10Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10

It's sometimes hard to describe what God has done here at New Hope. The goal was to see God create a place where people came together to share life's struggles and multiply life's joys, while learning and growing in our love for God and for our neighbors.

We've welcomed all sorts of people into our family here, and seen some move away. The one we sent out last night may very well be the best illustration of the Scripture above as any we'll ever send.

And he's a dog.

Bobbie the Labrador Retriever has been part of the New Hope family ever since Doug and Ellen Fannon brought him here. Their mission was to help him learn about becoming a "guide dog" and part of that training is his learning how to handle crowds.

So Bobbie became our "church dog". He went to all the usual Baptist events. He came to Sunday School, Wednesday night Bible study, but I can tell you as his pastor, what I most enjoyed was his attitude.

It never changed. You'd greet Bobbie, and he always had time for you. He never stopped to answer his cell phone, or began a conversation with someone else. So I was willing to overlook his one flaw - he slept through every one of my sermons. But he didn't snore too loud.

Last night he left us for the last time, and we threw him a party, complete with a special cake just for him. We recognized him for his cold nose, his soft snores, and his willingness to serve. We'll all miss him here, but we know God will use him to bless many others.

Each one of us has the same opportunity. Let's each of us be the "living letters" and sign our lives, "from New Hope, with love."

Grace!

David
www.newhopevalp.org

Hi, my name is David, and I'm a John Denver fan.

Wow! I feel so much better now that's out in the open. And yes, there are a lot of other artists I enjoy, from Stevie Ray Vaughn and BB King, to U2 and REM, all the way to Nickel Creek and Garth Brooks. But John Denver has always been one of my favorites. I bought his music back when it used to come on these round vinyl disks, and also in a black plastic box you shoved into an 8 track player in your car. I used to watch his TV shows and all the PBS specials.

I even spent $70 once to go to a concert to hear him in person.

For weeks I was filled with excitement, knowing that finally I'd get to see and hear someone I had always wanted to experience. The evening came, Bunny and I sat down. John Denver came out, and everyone around us stood. After a moment or two, we realized that they weren't going to sit back down, so we stood too. Then he began to sing, and for a brief moment, it was glorious.

Then everyone else around us began to sing too.

I didn't pay $70 to hear their voices. And they weren't very good, in fact some were pretty awful. This continued all the way through, until at last, the concert was over and we went home. I've never felt so cheated in my life.

Today I was praying for those around us here, and for people outside the faith community everywhere, when it hit me.

What if the reason people aren't in a church fellowship is not because they don't love Jesus, but because they can't see or hear Him for all the "pretenders" who are in the way?

That's an area that Jesus was frustrated often by. God the Father was desperate to tell the world of His love and plans to help them live life with grace in truth. The religious people did everything they could to keep that message from being heard.

" `These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away. Their worship is a farce, for they replace God's commands with their own man-made teachings.' " Mark 7:7

Friends, you need to hear God's song to you expressed through the love of Jesus Christ. Not what you hear on TV, or through others pretending to sing along with Him but never on key with grace. As a pastor, I don't come to church to tell people how to live, I come to hear God's voice and share what I've learned in my own struggles to love Him with my whole life.

I believe with every fiber of my being that once you know Jesus and love Him completely, you'll always want to hear Him. Make a way. Find a place free of interference from the world and its din of noise and meditate on God's Word. Take a moment to appreciate the wonder of God's creation. Find something in your life you can give Him thanks for, and spend a moment in prayer doing just that. Then come to worship with your fellow strugglers and enjoy the wonder of praise.

Don't allow yourself to be cheated out of a relationship with God.

Grace!

David Wilson
www.newhopevalp.org

Ordinary Time

Wow! Did we just celebrate Christmas? Time flies!

Here at New Hope, we had warm, Spirit filled worship, and great fellowship as we tried to get our hearts around the fact that because our God is so full of love for us, He sent His Son to live with us. Advent, the season of anticipation of our Savior's birth is over.

Now we begin what the church calls "Ordinary Time".

But is there such a thing?

This week will be one when people look back over the year past, reflecting on the events that occurred. I'm spending the week in prayer, asking God to help me learn the lessons He placed before me this year, and asking Him to prepare me to learn more of Him.

This morning in my devotionals, I came across this poem by Hugh Prather.

If I had only...
forgotten future greatness
and looked at the green things and the buildings
and reached out to those around me
and smelled the air
and ignored the forms and self-styled obligations
and heard the rain on the roof
and put my arms around my wife
.... and it's not too late.

Jesus said, "No procrastination. No backward looks. You can't put God's kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day." Luke 9:62 MSG

It's not too late friends. God is so close. Love means action. Do whatever it takes to live an extraordinary life in Jesus.

Grace!

David
(headed home in a little while to put his arms around his wife)
www.newhopevalp.org

I Wonder As I Wander

Today's the day after Christmas. The tree has come down, the decorations have been boxed, and if you came to our house today you'd have a hard time believeing we celebrated the birth of our Savior yesterday. We've moved on.

All except our hearts.

My wife was visibly moved yesterday during my sermon, and as I try to stay in eye contact with the crowd, I noticed her, seemingly in dismay. Then I forced myself to move on. While speaking the words to the congregation I had researched and prepared for all week, my mind was also going through a checklist of - was it something I just said? Did she suddenly confront a memory? When we talked later, she said that she just hasn't been able to get past the reason for the season - that we sinners needed a sacrifice paid for our sins, and it came within the package of a baby boy.

My heart is unsettled, as I'm wrestling with what to do, what to initiate - how to lead - deep and lasting change in the lives of the people God has given me to shepherd. In recent days, it's been made very apparent that the depth of commitment through lifestyle actions is shallower than I thought among our people. So what to do, I wonder?

One approach is to go "back to the Bible". Never realized we left it behind. Then too, I've met too many mean and hateful people who could quote chapter and verse. It never hit their heart - never changed their lives.

Another is the more terrifying. Get closer.

Closer to the people I serve, though intentional discipleship. Closer through small groups where intimacy and accountability coexist. That's foreign to our programmed SBC culture.

I've been wandering around bookstores, reading online, searching for a sign to guide me. Wondering as I wander is a good way to put it.

But I know this - I'm not going to intentionally fail at helping people know Christ and live in the Spirit.

So pray for me.

Grace!

David

"How Much More"

I've scoured toy stores, searched discount store's back rooms, used every connection I had - just to get the right toys for my boys. You see I had this idea that if I made sure their Christmas gifts were up to their expectations, that what would result would be happiness on a level never before matched among humans.

Just so you'll know, it didn't work.

Some years, the very toys we fought to get them broke within 15 minutes on Christmas day. Other years, the toy they wanted - had to have - couldn't live without on December 14th, was old news on the 25th.

I'm not here today to tell you not to want to show your love to your kids, your spouse or your family through presents. Nope.

What I am here to do is to let you know someone else does it better.

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Matthew 7:11 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

That's one of my favorite verses.

"How much more?"

We are loving but flawed, giving to get.

Oh but our loving Father..

sets no limits on His love for His children. You are loved. Wholly and dearly loved by God.

Grace!

David Wilson
www.newhopevalp.org

To Know Him



One of the great privileges of being a pastor is watching people as they grow and mature. I've been here long enough now that some of the little kids are becoming the young adults.



Today I was listening to one who used to be "little Katie Shermer" as she practiced a song with Bunny. She was singing one of my favorite hymns, "What Wondrous Love Is This". I was awestruck by how this young woman was expressing her love for Jesus through the song.



What a joy!



I walked back into my study, and my mind immediately thought of these verses.



1From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in--we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. 2The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we're telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.

3We saw it, we heard it, and now we're telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. 4Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy! 1 John 1:1-4 The Message



That's why Bunny, Sean and I left home to come here. We had a need to share with others what Jesus means to us. All we want for Katie and every other person we meet is for them to love Him too. When it happens - and when on those occasions like today we can see (or hear) it expressed, that's the best present ever.



May you know Him more.



Grace!







David Wilson



www.newhopevalp.org

God's Timing



Christian churches around the world began the season of Advent this past Sunday. For those who came in late :), Advent is the 40 day period prior to the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It's usually celebrated with Advent wreaths and with readings each day of the prophecies and events leading up to Jesus' birth.



We celebrate in abundance.



But the event we celebrate was set among the poorest and most marginalized of people.



We open our Bibles knowing the full revelation of the Messiah's life and work both on earth and among us through the Holy Spirit.



But they only had the promises of ancient prophets and their hope.



Each godly Jew prayed daily for the coming of Messiah, hoping against hope that this would be the year. Yet years came and went, entire generations passing away. Reading the Old Testament, you'll come across people crying out to God, "How long, O Lord? How long?"



The apostle Paul must have been thrilled to put quill to parchment and write this:



But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. (NLT)



"When the right time came..."



No one on earth could see what God saw - a common language among most of the people (koine Greek); a road system better than ever before (Roman Roads); and a people who turned back toward God - not religion, but God (Israel in Jesus' day).



The time for their release from bondage had come.



Friend, maybe you've been crying out to God about a hurt or a need in your life. Don't give up! God hears your hurts and even now is "working all things together for your good."



That's God's timing. And when He delivers His promises - they are awesome indeed.



Grace!



David Wilson

www.newhopevalp.org

Guaranteed



Last Christmas, we decided as a family that the time had come for us to purchase a digital camera. We had one given as a free promotion (read that cheap), and really wanted to be able to take pictures we could instantly view, save, and email. So after a grueling study of all the available choices in our price range, we made our decision. On December 21st 2004, we made our choice.



A week or so ago, the camera started malfunctioning. After a search, we found the manufacturer's guarantee, and after reading through the mind-numbing fine print we read - the guarantee was one year. So now I have to box it up and send it to them for repair. We're hopeful of receiving our camera back in good shape, but we still don't know. It could be lost in postage, it could be misplaced once it arrives at the service center, there's a lot of possibilities that could keep us from receiving what was promised.



Today I was reading a familiar Advent Scripture.



6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor,* Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His ever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David. The passionate commitment of the Lord Almighty will guarantee this!

Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997 (Is 9:5-7).



Usually, we focus on the beautiful promises contained within this passage. They've always warmed my heart, to know the love behind those promises.



But did you ever notice the last sentence?



"The passionate commitment of the Lord Almighty will guarantee this!"



Promises it is said, are made to be broken. That's the way we've learned down through the years.



Ah, but in this case, we have a guarantee! And not one designed to make it difficult to see whether the promise is good. This guarantee is shouted to us with very blessing we receive, within every instance when we realize we are God's chosen.



God's passionate commitment, beloved, is to you and me.



What wondrous love is this, Oh my soul, Oh my soul. Every promise comes with love.



Grace!



David Wilson

www.newhopevalp.org

Expectations



It's that time of year again - when children and adults are making their lists and checking them twice. It begins early, this idea of sitting down and deciding what you want from Christmas. In our family, the boys used to grab the Sears "Christmas Wish Book" and circle what they'd like to have for Christmas. I can remember looking at the results of that with Bunny and laughingly saying "Is there anything on these pages that they haven't circled?"



A couple thousand years ago, it was the adults that were making lists. If God really loved them, He'd send:



A mighty warrior to throw off Roman oppression.

A king to rule them with law.

A provider, always willing to give them what they want.



And God sent a... baby.



14 All right then, the Lord himself will choose the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel—‘God is with us.’

Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997 (Is 7:13-14).



In the passage this was lifted from, the prophet delivers the message that Israel doesn't really understand what God's will is. What they are asking for, expecting to receive, isn't what God had for them. So finally, Isaiah was told to tell them to revise their expectations. "The Lord Himself will choose the sign."



Can I ask you something? As you make lists, and pursue that which you want, can you really sense the peace of God? There are times I wonder if we've swapped the Prince of Peace for the Prince of Stress.



Take a moment today and see if your expectations might need corrections.



Grace!



David Wilson

www.newhopevalp.org

Can You Spare A Few Minutes?



16We know what real love is because Christ gave up his life for us. And so we also ought to give up our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters. 1 John 3:16 (New Living Translation)



Maybe it's just me, but when I read passages like this a realization comes to me of just how far short of Christ's pattern of behavior most of us live. The apostle John is saying that since we know that Christ gave His life for us, we should give ours freely to our fellow Christ-followers.



But...



What's your reaction when someone asks you if you can spare a few minutes?



Or for those who worship at New Hope, what do you think when you see Allan's number show up on your phone's caller ID? :)



You see dear readers, our friend Allan is a young man of 23 who is developmentally challenged. He loves New Hope, and New Hope loves him. However communicating with Allan, even about things he loves, like NASCAR, the Braves, or the Niceville Eagles, is difficult. Not only does Allan suffer from hearing loss, but he's not able to process the information well at times.



So conversations with Allan tend to go according to a pattern that He sets, and within that conversation, you may repeat the same pattern several times. He loves to talk, and can tell when you drift off or are distracted. So when you talk to Allan, you have to drop everything else and listen and respond.



We're used to that face to face interaction here, but since Allan took home a church directory - well, things haven't really been the same. He'll call the church, he'll call your home, he'll call your cell phone - sometimes talking for a half hour.



We love Allan. He knows that. Still, he needs to talk to people he loves and hear their voices. But those on the other end of the line have lives too. At times, it can be very inconvenient when he calls.



So when the caller ID reads his number, what do you do?



I was talking with Bunny about this just the other day, and she said "You know, you just have to decide to give Allan that time."



Love is a decision, isn't it?



Can you spare a few minutes?



Grace!



David Wilson

www.newhopevalp.org

Otters, Lions and ...

I did an assessment tonight about what my perceptions were of what a pastor needs to do the job. Later, I found out that John Trent was behind it. Should have guessed, when I read that I was a Lion, an Otter, and a Golden Retriever.

Now I'm cool with the Lion part. I mean, after all, who wouldn't want to be a Lion. King of beasts and all that (discounting entirely that cowardly lion abberation in the Wizard of Oz). And I have always loved Otters. Watching them, it really seems like God likes them too - they have a great time just being. Except for those seagoing ones that live in the kelp beds, some of whom wind up as shark snacks.

But a Golden Retriever? Please.

If I'm going to be a dog, I want to be a Great Dane.

Folks, I have one - our second, and I can tell you there's nothing like a Dane. Fiercely loyal, incredibly loving, playful, and capable of leaping tall buildings with a single bound. Okay, but they can snatch your sandwitch off the kitchen counter in a heartbeat.

The thing is, they don't live very long. But you know that going in, so you cherish every one of them.

As a pastor, I know that every day, someone I love could face unspeakable tragedy. The conversation we had over potluck, might be our last. So I have to concentrate on life by the drop. Not a bad ministry model.

Got to run. You don't want a Dane to wait when they are ready to go outside. Noahaic.

Grace!

David

Training Days

⁷God is educating you; that's why you must never drop out. He's treating you as dear children. This trouble you're in isn't punishment; it's training, ⁸the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? ⁹We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God's training so we can truly live? ¹⁰While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best. ¹¹At the time, discipline isn't much fun. It always feels like it's going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God. Hebrews 12: 7-11 The Message

Well friends, at 5:30 AM this morning, I dropped my youngest son off at the curb at the Pensacola airport. He was beginning a trip that would take him across the country by air, and then back again home in a car he purchased in California.

After coming home, later this morning Bunny asked me about how it went. "Did you drop him off or stay with him?"

"I dropped him off", I replied.

"It's much easier for Fathers, isn't it."

I wish.

God has blessed me with two sons. He gave me a limited amount of time to help them understand the most important things in life. The most important of all was that God, in His love for them, gave them life, placed them in our family, and was reaching out to them with the perfect love only He can give. That only He can give.

I was blessed to have a Father and later a Father in Love who are great men. They set high standards and continue to live out those standards even today.

Yet when first Adam, then Sean came into our lives, I can safely and without fear say that I knew that the challenge was mine. My shortcomings were and are most ably compensated for by Bunny's grace and humor, but men are uniquely called and equipped to raise boys to manhood.

Over the last 27 years, I've tried to do just that. It never felt good to have to spank them, or call them to account. It was always awesome to catch them doing something well and praise them. I've ranted at them, cried with them, laughed until I thought I would die. It has been my honor, my God-gift to be their Daddy. To watch them become men and begin their journey.

They do grow up. As I watched Sean walk confidently away to baggage check in today, I saw a man making his way, seeking life's adventures. There was nothing I could advise him on, nothing I could do further to protect him, so I drove away. Now we pray until he returns home safely.

Training days over for now, it is up to Sean to live it out.

Friends, each of us who follow Christ will have times of trouble, of trial where we wonder, "What's God doing?" We'll have those training days.

Consider the possibility that He's loving you through it, preparing you for your next great adventure of faith.

Grace!

David Wilson

www.newhopevalp.org

He Believed In Us

^"13"You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it useful again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. ¹⁴You are the light of the world--like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. ¹⁵Don't hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. ¹⁶In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." Matthew 5: 13-16 NLT

"You are salt. You are light."

Absolutely no question that Jesus believed that His followers could be agents of His Kingdom work here on earth. With all the failures of the church in reaching into culture, just the knowledge that Jesus Himself believes we can do it is both challenging and comforting.

I watched the movie "Kingdom of Heaven" this weekend. As Jerusalem is about to be attacked by Saladin's Muslim army, the defender of Jerusalem has every man who can fight kneel. He then recites the Knight's Code over them and has them rise as Knights.

The clergyman says sarcastically "So you believe they will fight better, just because you said a few words? Just because you made them Knights?"

"Yes. Yes I do."

Jesus believes in us.

Grace!

David

Batting .500 stinks

I'm beginning to think that the only one who could preach the sermon on the Mount was Jesus. Spent hour upon hour this week in background, in contextual study, in word study, in exposition and exegesis. (for the non-seminary geeked people who read this, that means I worked hard and pulled out all the stops). But frankly, when a clip from the Lion King is the highlight of the whole sermon, then you stunk. I stunk. As they said about Lazurus "but Lord, he stinketh". That was me.

Don't really know why except that my reach exceeded my grasp. So I'm praying hard for understanding and direction, reviewing what I did and limping away.

Tonight (yes a true Baptist 2x Sunday), I broke open the book of Judges to the story of Samson. I had a ball exposing the folks to this conflicted character's highs and lows (ok lows and high). It was everything that morning should have been. Application, inspiration, correction - all of that.

Sigh...

It's not enough in this vocation to bat .500.

Father forgive me. You'll do better through me next week, if I can get out of your way.

Grace - and Lord I need it!

David

You Have Heard It Said...

"once more into the breach, men."

Tomorrow I bring the Sermon on the Mount to the people - again. My wife told me that when she hears me start to preach on passages like that or the Fruits of the Spirit, she instantly goes "yada yada yada".

When I read it though, I hear giants from the past calling out to me saying, "Tell it, brother. Make it ring." Like Clarence Jordan.

The story is told that after one sermon before a southern congregation, an
elderly woman approached Clarence and said, “I want you to know that my
granddaddy fought in the Civil War, and I’ll never believe a word you say.” Returning
her steely glare with a gracious smile, Jerdan replied, “Ma’am, your choice seems quite
clear. It is whether you will follow your granddaddy or Jesus Christ.”

That's how I want to preach tomorrow - to lift Jesus' words before the people assembled, and have them make a choice. Lord, make me fully yours.

Grace!

David

The Challenge of A Lifetime

Ephesians 5:2 (The Message)

²Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.

Since I've been a pastor, I've tried to "always be ready to give an answer". I've worked hard to "preach the Word."
Those are skills.

The verse above is the challenge of my lifetime. I can get to feeling pretty good about myself - good sermon, strong teaching, church growing, building bridges.... me - and then I read that verse and realize just how far I am away from God's ideal for anyone who shepherds His people.

But reread it. he gave us the secret for making it happen in our hearts. "Keep company with Him and learn a life of love."

Let me ask you a question.

How much time have you spent with Jesus lately?

Join me in admitting "not enough" and then let's see what God does as we spend our lives in close communion with Him.

Grace!

David

What to do When Your Resources Are Low

Who knew?

I was minding my own business this morning, working on a sermon series, looking at PowerPoint, listening to music, and fielding and answering email when a little window popped up on my computer.

Your resources are dangerously low!
You should close open windows not in use.
Windows will adjust your virtual memory.

Okay, so I had 8 windows open. Shouldn't I be able to do whatever I want to do?

Your PC, like your life, can be adversely affected when you try to do too many things at a time. What generally happens when you are overloaded is that your stock of compassion, of optimism, of joy, and of hope wears away. You find yourself struggling to "be nice". You find it very difficult to listen as others share their struggles, all the while thinking "yeah, yeah, yeah...you just need to straighten up." The love of Christ that enables you to feel other's hurts and respond in love and kindness - your resource - is low.

What to do?

Well, if you cannot break away for a quick respite - say a breath prayer like "Lord, help me be like you right now."

Or take a five minute sabbatical from whatever it is you are doing. Yes, five minutes. No phone, no email, nada - five minutes alone with God. Just try it.

Let me ask you a question.

Are you busier than Jesus?

He had three years of ministry time, within which he healed the sick, raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, taught His disciples, sparred with the religious...

Yet despite Jesus' instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. 16But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer. Luke 5:15-16 NLT

and separated Himself regularly from all that to be alone with His Father.

When your resources run low, spend time with the Source.

Grace!

David Wilson
www.newhopevalp.org

What To Give God (Who Has Everything)

It's been an interesting week.

Back and forth to Macon, GA to be with my father as he awaited a doctor's report. Then directly into preparing and carrying out the funeral of a church member. And now this weekend, Sunday to be exact, is my father's 86th birthday.

Over the years I've given him some pretty interesting presents. He's not really into "stuff", though, and sometimes months later I'd find the present I thought was "just the right thing" still sitting in its box somewhere in the house. So I'm trying to think of just what I can give him, but not having much success.

I'll bet some of us have trouble trying to figure out what God wants from us too. I love the way Paul's instructions to the Roman Christians are phrased here.

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. 2Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
Romans 12: 1-2, The Message

Everyday

Ordinary

Sleeping

Eating

Going-to-work

Walking-around

Life

Is what God wants you to give to Him. Learning to see Him at work all around you, and then not losing focus on Him will help each one who does it become more like His Son Jesus Christ. Listening for His promptings and doing what He's asked you to do will help you develop a heart like His.

And that's what God wants.

Grace!

David

It's Not About You

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2 (New International Version)

Two prime ministers are sitting in a room discussing affairs of state. Suddenly a man bursts in shouting and stamping and banging his fist on the desk. The resident prime minister admonishes him. "Peter," he says, "kindly remember rule number 6," whereupon Peter is instantly restored to complete calm, apologizes, and withdraws.

The politicians return to their conversation, only to be interrupted yet again twenty minutes later by a hysterical woman gesticulating wildly, her hair flying.

Again the intruder is greeted with the words: "Marie, please remember rule number 6." Complete calm descends once more, and she too withdraws with a bow and an apology.

When the scene is repeated a third time, the visiting prime minister addresses his colleague: "My dear friend, I've seen many things in my life, but never anything as remarkable as this. Would you be willing to share with me the secret of rule number 6?"

"Very simple," replies the resident prime minister. "Rule number 6 is 'Don't take yourself so seriously.'"

"Ah," says his visitor, "that is a fine rule." After a moment of pondering, he inquires, "And what, may I ask, are the other rules?"

"There aren't any."

The hardest thing to do every day as a Christian is to die to your self. We all think we can do it, are willing to do it, but we're always looking for that real big thing God is going to ask us to do. We base our self-confidence in our belief that if that "Big Request" should roll into our heart from God, that we would be able and willing to do that "Great Thing".

So each and every day, we pass people who just need a word of encouragement, or a others who have a need we could fill, and go to bed that night confident that we are pleasing God, and will bless Him real good when our "Big Request" comes in.

Go back and re-read the Scripture above. The One who formed the universe, who placed the stars, who created daffodils and butterflies with merely a word...

humbled Himself and took the form of a slave.

It's not about you. (or me)

It's about Jesus, and returning His love.

Grace!



David Wilson

Tear Down the Walls


"For you ignore God's specific laws and substitute your own traditions." Mark 7:8

One of the most vivid memories I have of Ronald Reagan's presidency is his bold request while standing in front of the barrier that then divided East and West Berlin.

Facing a crowd of Berliners, the president forcefully stated his request -

"Mr.. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."

The pressure of world opinion, coupled with unrest and turmoil within, eventually led to that very wall being dismantled, and we were all treated to pictures of families united and the newly liberated dancing with glee on top of the very barrier that had separated them for so long. The whole world watched and applauded when that wall came down.

Not too many years before, another wall came down, and I never heard about it until today.

In an article within the Palm Beach Post, writer Steve Gushee tells of the legacy of brother Roger, founder of the Taize' community in France. Brother Roger had a dream, that Christians of all denominations - Protestant and Catholic alike - come come together to worship God in Spirit and in truth. He founded the community on authenticity, humility, sacrifice, and service to Christ. And in the late 50's and 60's, thousands flocked to the little chapel Roger and his friends had built with their own hands to house two hundred. The people would sit outside in hopes of hearing a word now and then, or a measure or two of music.

One Easter morning, the crowd swelled so much that Roger and his leaders wept to see how many were still outside.

So without a word being spoken, Roger went to the back wall of the chapel he and his friends had built and began removing the stones they had placed there themselves, one by one, until finally the whole back wall was open to the fields the people were sitting in.

Now everyone was within the walls.

I wonder sometimes how willing we are to consider that those outside our communities of faith are there in some ways because of walls we've built ourselves. Our walls might be a tradition of worship style, or of dress. They might be a judgmental spirit or prideful hearts.

They could be unknown to us - those of us who have been inside for so long we've forgotten what a "wall" looks like.

Whatever they are, those things that we have built to keep others out, I believe Christ is calling out to us right now saying, "tear down those walls."

Grace!

David Wilson

"Till My Trophies At Last I Lay Down"

Henley the big black dog and I were walking this morning, and it being Tuesday in Valparaiso, the curbs were cluttered here and there with trash and treasures. It happens every week here, because our incredibly efficient trash guys will pick up basically anything that's not moving or hazardous. So frequently people will leave things to throw away that someone else would take to Goodwill, or even keep.

This morning, as I walked by a stack of boxes, a glint of sunshine off gold caught my eye. I stopped and looked into the box and noticed it was full of trophies. There must have been a dozen trophies and plaques all thrown together in that box. There were other objects there too but since I'm under watch care by my wife as a recovering packrat, I walked on. But it got me to thinking.

At one time, everything that person had discarded mattered - maybe a great deal. Those trophies might have occupied a prominent place in his house. Those plaques might have been the center of attention, prominently displayed on a wall. They'd make sure each visitor say them. They'd use them to launch into stories of days gone by. But now they were trash.

Friends, I've spent some time lately with men who are looking past this life into the next. They've both been diagnosed with illnesses that mean their time on this earth is drawing to a close. For one that might mean weeks, for another the prognosis isn't sure yet. Both are receiving all the help modern medicine can provide. But death comes for us all, and for them sooner rather than later. When talking with them last week, one told me frankly "I haven't done everything I wanted to do. But I'm ready to go if it's God's will. " The other phrased it this way - "I've had a full life, now I'll just have to trust God through this."

You know, in the hours of conversations I've had with them lately, I never heard a word about "stuff" or trophies of any kind. All I heard was about people - about friends and loved ones, and about their God.

Jesus asked the question, "What good is it to gain the whole world and lose your soul?"

Well, from where I sit, these two men haven't lost anything. Instead, by holding onto their faith in Christ as their Savior, they've found peace in circumstances that might overwhelm any person. They might have to "lay their trophies down" soon, but they'll soon be wearing a crown.

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Grace!

David Wilson

As To Dying Men

"I preached as never sure to preach again, and as a dying man to dying men."
RICHARD BAXTER

I've spent a lot of time lately around dying men.

One lies in a hospital nearby, having already lost his arms, and soon to lose his life. I know him, but not well.

The other is my father, who at 85 is carrying esophageal cancer in his body.

Nothing like hanging with the dying to focus your preaching on what matters. Today I tried to do just that. In a series on the "Marks of a Christian" I focused on "Groups" or "Community" and laid out before the crowd the "one another" passages in the NT.

I was desperate to make them understand - to embrace and be embraced by God's plan for His people - redeemed and restored to rescue their neighbors.

I pray I got just enough out the way for that to happen.

Grace!

David

For thee

No person is an island entire of itself.
Every person is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less,
as well as if a promontory were,
as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were.
Any person's death diminishes me, because I am involved in humankind.
Therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls.
It tolls for thee.

John Donne

Sitting here today finishing tomorrow's message on Biblical community with this week's images fresh in my mind and weighing heavy on my heart. The coast of Mississippi lies devastated, as does that of Louisiana, its crown jewel flooded as its citizens become "every man for himself." It's raw, this descent into lawlessness. We recoil in horror and rightly so.

But what about when we cut another with our words? What about when we flood their soul with grief, when we imply that God doesn't care for them? What about when we look on each other and see anything other than God's precious creation - clothed with mortal flesh, but destined for immortality.

What then?

I pray I'm ready to point us toward grace tomorrow even as I rouse us from complacentcy into a deeper community.

Jesus, have mercy on me a sinner.

David

Til I Met A Man...

There are good times and there are bad times in any area of life. The ministry isn't any different. On some days, it's glorious to be sold out to God - leading His people into worship and the Word.

Other days, well, let's just admit that church people can find a way to take all the fun out of church. It might be a fight over what to keep or what to toss on cleanup day, or who spent how much on what, or even my all time favorite - whether to open or close the curtain in front of the baptistry.

Had a few cat fights today to handle.

But they all pale beside the man I visited in the hospital who had his hands amputated Sunday.

As I was trying to help him - sharing the love of Christ, praying for Him, letting him know that he is loved by God and by God's people, I knew that I wouldn't face any challenge today bigger than his. And I knew that God would meet all our needs from His riches.

Someone told me once that the difference between the average painter and van Gogh was one word - perspective.

Now that I have that, I should be able to handle anything else - today.

Grace!

David

A Living Illustration

My friend, the right reverend Arnold Hendrix, called me a "story teller" today. Now before you get all third grade on him, you should know I take that as a compliment. That means like my Master Jesus Christ, I take life and God's Word, and bring both to this life and the living of it. I tell stories. You can call them their proper name, "illustrations", as they are referred to in preaching textbooks too. Every now and then I even bump into one.

Reading this weekend, I came across this passage.

16So we're not giving up. How could we! 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. 17These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. 18There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.
2 Corinthians 4 The Message

Then today I went to see the illustration.

Rick Barton is a man with a host of troubles. A long time diabetic, recipient of a donated kidney that's failing and requires dialysis three times a week now, finger tips that have turned black from lack of circulation - the body that encloses Rick's soul is in need of repair. But Rick's a man that doesn't depend on his own will to live, though that is fierce. Rick depends on God's grace, and though he needs all of it he can get, Rick's still looking for people to share it with.

Rick's roommate Lloyd has heard from Rick about the grace that God is giving him. And in the most unlikely place, at the most unlikely time, from the one who outwardly seems to be falling apart - Lloyd met Jesus, and was embraced in God's love himself. Now Lloyd calls everyone "brother" and "sister", and has a real faith growing each day. Nursing home evangelism might be Rick's ministry gift. It was a great thing to see.

Friends, God shows us the truth of His Word not just in the splitting of infinitives or parsing of ancient languages. He illustrates it in life. I saw two men both experiencing hard times, who have turned their eyes away from this life's standard of living toward the next. They are living for forever. That's real life.

Take a look around today friends. See whether you're living for the soon past or the forever future. You can make a difference for eternity.

Grace!

David Wilson

www.newhopevalp.org

Who, me?

Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. Philippians 3:17 (New Living Translation)

Was talking with a young man recently, and as he was speaking of his life as he saw it, he blurted out "I want life like you have it."

We finished our talk, but that hadn't finished resonating with me. When he said it, part of me wanted to laugh, part wanting to scream "are you kidding me", and part of me just was shocked. I am blessed with a great family. I am blessed to be doing meaningful work. I am blessed to be healthy and well taken care of. But someone wanting my life?

How do you handle that?

My life isn't without heartache. Not a day goes by that I don't think of my granddaughter's death. Even the tragic loss of our dog 4 years ago still scars me. There are events that have happened here as we worked our way to a healthy church that still are dull aches. (Consolation - that's better than open wounds)

My life's not without fear, or doubts, or worries - all that's common to man.

But I do have a faith in God. I do have a certain knowledge of His love for me. And if I died tonight, it would be fine with me. Maybe that's what he wanted.

Funny isn't it, that without a sermon being preached, people still hear the message - and want it to be real in their lives. I pray my friend finds what I have and more.

Grace!

David

It Moves Me

Living in Florida has done a lot of things to me. I've learned that jeans are for dressing up, that shorts can be worn year round, and that a portable generator is as indispensable as a refrigerator. I've changed from someone who really didn't pay attention to the weather, to a person who knows how to plot tropical storms by latitude and longitude, and who just has to have live weather instantly available on my PC. My Earth Science teachers would be so proud.

Yesterday, I was reading about the weather and stumbled across an article in which the writer (overzealously I thought) tried to connect every dot of activity across the globe to a corresponding weather phenomenon. His premise was that if a tree fell in Africa, or a butterfly flapped its wings, the earth everywhere would be affected.

I'll have to mull that over for a while.

But I know this, when I see a butterfly amidst the flowers as I walk along the bay - it moves me.

Psalms 33:4-5 (MSG)
4 For God's Word is solid to the core; everything he makes is sound inside and out.
5 He loves it when everything fits, when his world is in plumb-line true. Earth is drenched in God's affectionate satisfaction.


Why does it affect me?

Because I know to the very core of my being that our God loves me enough to create a world I can never cease to be amazed by - just so I'll remember His love toward me. He is the One who holds everything within His power, Who caused everything to be...

and He loves me.

Yeah, that moves me.

Grace!

David Wilson

www.newhopevalp.org

The Real Deal?

On the way to the church today, fashionably late, and already thinking about the day, I reached my last turn and was blocked by men, trucks, and asphalt. The ditch they had dug across our road and left two weeks ago was getting fixed at last.

Now to go another way is a pain, and there are times when the combination of A: late, B: busy, and C: inconvienced would mean a David not exactly exhibiting grace. I'm a long way from the days when I'd have saluted them or yelled, but murmuring is within my skill set.

But today, I whipped the car around, cut across and parked.

On the way into the office, I looked over at the workers standing maybe 100 yards away. I was thanking God for the victory over my emotions, when one of them waved.

Then it dawned on me. He had connected the dots between guy, car, church parking lot and pastors office. And I hadn't let him down.

Thank you God for giving me the strength to reflect Your grace... today. :)

Weakness

Having the best job in the world is a great feeling. But if you do it long enough there will be times when you just aren't "up" to the task. In my case today, I was running on fumes because of a terrible nights sleep the night before. "I slept like a baby" wasn't even accurate.

Yet every time I laid back down, I knew that in a few hours I would be called to be a representative of Jesus. We had a 101 class scheduled, communion within the service - and I wasn't happy with the message for either service.

What to do? I prayed. Most of the time that I was lying in bed hoping the heartburn would cease, or willing my lungs to place nice and give me a breath - I prayed. But I left the house for church feeling like I was carrying a weight.

Upon arrival, I was stunned by how many people were in our gathering before the Bible Study hour, and amazed at how many were in the 101 class. But nothing prepared me for the biggest crowd of the whole year in worship.

Praise be to our God, Whose power is perfected in weakness.