Those Crazy Christians

I'm not advocating sitting around in sunglasses and a "Turn or Burn" T-shirt, but I have heard this guy has been a persistent presence on a particular college campus, and my guess is he has sparked a lot of conversation.

All of us have probably met someone that has professed the name of Jesus and weirded us out at one time or another, and I'm also not advocating being weird in a way that creeps people out.

However, I am thinking that some of us might be able to do a better job at stirring things up for the sake and cause of Jesus then we do.

The early apostles were pretty determined to get the word out in Jerusalem about Jesus.

So one came and told them, saying, "Look, the men [Peter and John] whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!" Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, "Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man's blood on us!" But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men. (Act 5:25-29)

We are told by the word of God that we are to respect the ordinances of men and the authorities that are over us, ("having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men"— 1Pe 2:12-15), but we have a command to perform the mission of getting the gospel of Jesus Christ out to the masses.

So how are we doing? Could you be accused of trying to fill your community with the message of Jesus Christ?

Yours in Him,
Pastor B.

Too Much Drama?

The ancient Greeks were famous for their drama, and the word 'drama' comes from an ancient Greek word meaning 'to do',or 'to act'.

Dramas in the Greek world were often a combination of what we would consider plays and opera. Many of the dramas were tragedies in which people suffered a transition from good fortune to bad fortune. Some felt that drama not only served as a means of entertainment, but of bringing forth emotion that could purge self-pity and other unhealthy things that were bottled up within us.

Having our hearts purified, or purged, is a good thing. Jesus said that a purged, or pure heart wil enable us to see God.

Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. (Mat 5:8)

As Christ-followers, we know that entertainment does little to truly purge, or purify us, and that the key to a pure heart that is free from ilk such as anxiety is a life in Christ!

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Php 4:6-7)

King Solomon had it right when he said, "Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life." (Pro 4:23)

We must carefully tend to our hearts and minds, thoughts and emotions.

For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man." (Mat 15:19-20)

Jesus said to him, 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' This is the first and great commandment.
(Mat 22:37-38)

Here's to healthy hearts!
Yours in Him,
Pastor B.

How much SHOUTING have YOU done lately?

In our 5:00 a.m. prayer time this morning at the church facility we looked at Psalm 95 and did some shouting.

Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is the great God, And the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: "Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work. For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.' So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.' "
(Psa 95:1-11)

We do a good expressing our excitement when watching our kids or favorite team play sports, but how good a job do we do in expressing our excitement about how great God is? The Psalmist says that we are to SHOUT! The Hebrew word here can indicate a shout of warning, joy, or triumph.

So how about trying a little shouting for the Lord sometime today? Go ahead, make that joyful noise!

Yours in Him,
Pastor B.

Good ideas are not the same as God ideas

The Greek word 'idea' comes from a word meaning to see, or to know, and means the form, appearance, or aspect. It is actually rendered "countenance" in the New Testament and only appears once.

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. (Mat 28:1-3)

Isn't that interesting that the angel's "idea" was like lightning? (You didn't know where the concept of bright and shining ideas came from, did you? :))

The Word of God says that all good things come from God, and in that sense if an idea is truly a good one it is a gift from God, just as our amazing brains are gifts from God.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
(Jas 1:17)

However, we must not mistake good ideas for God ideas. The latter flows from a relationship with God and His Word, and the former flows from your brain and bright light bulbs. (Recent research actually concluded that we’re more likely to come up with creative ideas if we’ve been exposed to that universal symbol of brilliant ideas: a glowing light bulb. The studies clearly suggest exposure to a bare, glowing light bulb stimulates mental processes that lead to creative thinking.)

As Christ-followers we must be careful to study the Word, pray, and seek God ideas, as they can lead us in a direction that good ideas won't. Someone once said that that the good is often the enemy of best. Too often in life we miss the best by settling for the good.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. (Pro 3:5-7)

How interesting that the Word of God would caution us NOT to be wise in our own eyes. It's not that God doesn't want us to be wise and to have good ideas. It's just that they are a poor substitute for God's direction and God ideas.

Yours in Him,
Pastor B.

No Attachment Sent Doesn't Have to be the End of the Story

Did you ever send out an e-mail telling someone that you have attached something, and get a response back saying, "No attachment sent"? Happened to me this morning as a matter of fact. I went through a lot to send out that attachment that didn't end up sent. I picked up a set of music for this Sunday (it's Palm Sunday this Sunday), brought it to the church office, scanned the music, had the scanner send it to the computer in our church sanctuary, copied the scanned music file on the computer to a thumb drive, took the thumb drive to my office, wrote an e-mail to the worship team and hit the 'send' button. Only problem was, I forgot to attach the scanned music file. The plan just didn't come together.



There was a team called the "A-team" that appeared on television a good while back, that had to accomplish much more complicated and dangerous missions then sending out a set of music to the church worship team. They helped people fight bad guys, and managed to defeat them through some pretty elaborate schemes. Colonel 'Hannibal' Smith, the head of the A-team, became well known for the way he smiled at the end of each successful mission and said, "I love it when a plan comes together".

Unfortunately in life, many times our plans just don't come together- in spite of our best efforts, and in spite of bathing our plans in prayer.

But "No Attachment Sent" doesn't have to be the end of the story. I still had opportunity to resend the e-mail to the worship team and to add the attachment. And no matter which of your plans have not come together, it doesn't have to be the end of the story. For God has a plan for your life, and it will come together!

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jer 29:11)

God loves and guides, protects and provides.

Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go.
(Isa 48:17)

Yours in Him,
Pastor B.

Where exactly are we going?

Two thousand years ago a man named Jesus called out to some fishermen, told them to drop their nets, and to follow Him.

For the past two thousand years God has continued to call out to people, and has beckoned them to follow Him. Many, however, have not wanted to drop anything in order to do so, but to simply add God to one of their many priorities and activities in life.

When God calls on you to follow Him does He promise to use you in some way that is spectacular in the worldly sense of the word? Does He promise you that you will be able to use the talents that you so enjoy?

Actually, He promises you none of those things. As C.S. Lewis once put it, "No sphere of usefulness: you are not needed there at all. No scope for your talents: only forgiveness for having perverted them . . . " and no atmosphere of inquiry, for He will bring you to the land not of questions but of answers, "and you shall see the face of God."

Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." They immediately left their nets and followed Him. (Mat 4:19-20)

As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him. (Mat 9:9)

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mat 16:24-26)

So tell me my friend, Have you heard the call of God to follow Christ? Is your life more about you, or all about Christ? Just what exactly have you dropped and given up and turned from in order to follow Christ and serve Him? Just what does your Lord expect from you?

Yours in Him,
Pastor B.

Are you an "I" or a "C"?

It is easy to stand tall, straight, and proud in the letter "I", but we must somehow bow in order to fit into the letter "C". There is no entering into Christ without first being humbled and kneeling at His feet for mercy.

He is holy and just. We are unholy and unjust. He is pure and strong. We are impure and weak.

The good news is that our Lord is slow to anger and abounding in mercy.

For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You. (Psa 86:5)

But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth. (Psa 86:15)

Have you experienced the wonder of God's forgiveness and mercy? Are you willing to be His pipeline of forgiveness and mercy to others?

Let us be willing to overlook, and even cover the the sins of our brothers and sisters in Christ, for love covers a multitude of sins.

Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins. (Pro 10:12)

He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates friends.
(Pro 17:9)

There is a time for personal rebuke, but the Word of God exhorts us to make a concerted effort to cover the weaknesses and transgressions of our church family, rather than expose them.

Let us choose to see the amazing things God has done in and through the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ, and let us choose to broadcast the good things rather than the bad.

Are you willing to be God’s pipeline of compassion and encouragement to the body of Christ, and particularly to your own local church family? What good stuff have you been spreading lately?

Yours in Him,
Pastor B.