What Can the Church Be?

It is easy to see the negative. Ask some people how they view the church, and you will hear words like “hypocrites or unloving.” I choose to see the positive. When a church is operating at its best, it can be many things, such as:

A School – 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” At its best a church is a wonderful place to learn about God and to have the Word of God explained. We grow in our knowledge of the King of Kings and out of that teaching, training, discipleship, and correction, we can move forward in sharing His love with others.

A Hospital – Mark 2:16-17 says, “And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” At its best a church is a place of healing, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It is a place we can go for prayer when we are sick, for hope when we are emotionally overwhelmed, and to find the salvation that can only be found in Jesus Christ.

A Family – 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” At is best a church is a perfect family. A family that loves one another, encourages, supports and prays for one another.

I have experienced the school, the hospital and the family.  This is the church at its best.

The Police and Prayer

I glanced nervously in my rear-view mirror as the red and blue police lights went off behind me.

Like many people, I get a bit more conscientious of my driving when I see a police car. When the car is right behind me I become VERY attentive. This one had been following me for a mile or two so I was extremely attentive to every function of my vehicle and where I was on the road.

Then the lights came on and I assumed the worst. I began to move my vehicle to the side of the road, only to have the police cruiser move past me and turn its lights off again!

I went from fearing a ticket to righteous indignation that the officer would use his lights just to pass me! However, while he was behind me, I did become a better driver. My prayer life increased as well!

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to pray without ceasing. Another way to say that is "pray all the time!"

Just as my driving improves when a cruiser is behind me, my prayer life improves when I am in the midst of a spiritual, emotional, physical or financial difficulty. I pray more when the crisis is at hand then I do at any other time.

That saddens me.

I should drive well at all times, not just went there are police officers around.

I should pray at all times, not just when the crisis is at hand.

Prayer is the word I felt the Lord gave me for 2012 and this experience reminded me of that. Of course, I look at those catalysts to prayer and I find I pray more due to physical difficulties than anything else.

What causes you to pray more?

Preaching to Myself

"do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." (Philippians 4:6)

This was the text I was going to preach on last week.

Maybe I will get to preach it this week.

It is hard to talk about not being anxious while struggling with not giving in to anxiety.

Maybe it started when my son broke his femur and spent 6 weeks in a cast and a month of physio. It could have been when my daughter fell on the ice figure skating right after that and developed a small fracture in her elbow. I guess it could have been the sinus infection I developed which has been followed by an abscessed tooth.

Or there is always work.

Whatever it was, this Scripture became more real to me as I began to question God and where He was in all this.

Maybe He was in the gentle reminder to be thankful in all circumstance! (1 Thess. 5:18) I found myself driving down the road giving thanks for my kids, their lives, etc.

Maybe it was in the unexpected way He answered a heartfelt prayer. On Sat. night I laid in bed and expressed my frustrations to God. My words were something like, "God, who pastors the pastor. I am tired and can use a little encouragement." The next day church started and for the first time in 3 years, no one walked in the door! 15 minutes later one of our members showed up and God used them to encourage Sarah and I for the next hour!

He is here, in the midst of these circumstances.

I'm so glad to know I am not alone!

I'm So Thankful For...

Last year a friend of mine posted things she was thankful for on her blog and I found it to be intriguing and thought provoking.

I have been chewing on thankfulness this week and realized I don't stop enough to Thank God for not only the blessings, but for my life!

Even the bad days can lead to new opportunities to experience God!

1 Thessalonians says we should give thanks in ALL circumstances. I will be the first to admit, that is VERY HARD to do when the circumstances are bad. My first thought is not to thank God in that circumstance but to ask to get out of them!

I remember when we were on the mission field, sometimes our circumstances were rough. There were times I wanted to quit and I "wrestled" with God quite a bit. I was not thankful in those circumstances, though I am now thankful i went through them.

At the time, I did not see God's hand moving. This is despite the fact that we never went hungry and never went without our needs met. I just didn't see God in it. Looking back, I now see how God was there and I am thankful. My thanks today is because those times caused my faith to grow, mature and become more real.

So today I will say I am thankful for my walk with the Lord, that He gave His Son as a gift so that I could have life!

I am thankful for who HE is!

I am also thankful for my precious wife of 16 years, my 2 wonderful kids and that God is in control!

What are you thankful for?

What If?

There was a comic book I used to love as a kid called What If? It basically took a storyline from another comic and said, "What if they made this decision instead?" It was a fun read but invariably, the alternative decisions that were made never ended well.

You came away realizing that the characters life was better off the way things had actually developed.

Too bad we don't often realize that in real life!

I know so many people who play the what if game. I've played it myself.

What if I took this job instead of that one?
What if I married someone else?
What if I moved here instead of there?

I think you see this a lot in failed marriages. What if my spouse did or said or was "X"?

We also tend to do this a lot when it comes to tough conversations or situations...

What if I had said this or told that person this...yeah that would have showed them!

Sadly, as a Christian, I see too often we play the "What If" game when it comes to our future as well.

What if I (or my spouse) get sick?
What if I lose my job?

The list goes on!

In the end, the "what if" life becomes the paralyzed life. We are so focused on how things should have been or could have been better, that we fail to give thanks in all circumstances. We fail to move beyond the past to the future God has for us!

Even projecting out what could happen, we don't always picture God in those circumstances. Our worst or best case future scenarios don't usually include God moving in the situation.

We spend more time fantasizing the what if than living the life God has for us now!

Jesus said in Luke 12:25, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

Instead of worrying or stressing about the what if or the what was, let's embrace what God has for us right now! Let's thank Him for the What is!

1 Thessalonians 5:18, "Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."

It's the little things - Just A Thought #46

As I woke this morning to a house that was almost too quiet, I struggled to wipe the sleep from my eyes, poured myself a cup of rapidly cooling coffee and let the dog out. Praise was the furthest thing from my mind.

Psalm 150:6, "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!"

I wasn't feeling too spiritual. It has been a rough few days. I was a bit taxed mentally from some job stuff and as I found my attention shifting, I noticed my personal time with God was waning as well.

Saturday was kind of a breaking point for me. I struggled through where I was at and ended up sitting on my couch in exhaustion both mentally and spiritually. Why was I doing all these mental gymnastics?

Oh yeah, I wasn't living out of my identity! I was back to trying to solve the worlds problems in my own strength.

Thankfully, God used these last few days to bring me back to reality.

In the stillness of the dawn, in the midst of a 9 hour power outage, God spoke to me in the darkness. It wasn't an audible voice. It was a gentle nudge. A nudge to His Word.

1 Thessalonians 5:18, "in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

There is something about a house without power. There was no hum of background noise. I couldn't "distract" myself with TV or the net.

It was just me and God.

So I gave up.

I let go of my strength..

I listened...

Now, as I sit here writing this, I feel like a boxer after 15 rounds. I am tired, exhausted....and free.

Thankfully God was here all along, waiting for me to rediscover who I was meant to be. A child in His arms!

Sleepless Nights

Ah, newborns.

Last night, I felt like we were living out the line of an old Ernest Tubb Song:

I'm walking the floor over you
I can't sleep a wink that is true.

Of course our friends find it amusing. One card we received says, "Children are a gift from the Lord (Psalm 127:3)...remember that at 3 am!

Now I will be the first to admit, I love my sleep. I have never been a deep sleeper. I usually go down at 11 and get up at 6 and am ready to go. Getting up throughout the night, I forgot how FUN that was. No I value my sleep. It's precious. I will dare say I covet a good nights sleep.

Yeah, that's out the window.

So now I have a choice. I can be miserable and whiny about losing sleep...or I can see it for the opportunity it is.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

I have the chance to use my lack of sleep for something good. Like prayer and worship. There were times last night when I found myself singing praises to Him as I rocked my son back to sleep. I also found prayer coming to my lips. More than just, "Oh God let me get some sleep!"

I want to use these times, the many that lie ahead, to glorify God. To sing praises, to pray over my family, or the missionary across the globe.

Just remind me of that if you see me looking tired from a sleepless night!

Twilight and New Moon: Evil Abounds!

I am not a legalist. I have no problem going to movies, watching TV, etc as long as wisdom is used. However, we live in a world that is fascinated with evil. A few years back witches and witchcraft were all the rage. Everyone, including quite a few Christians, seemed to be into Harry Potter. Even though the Bible clearly speaks against witchcraft many soaked it up like baby pablum!

Now we have Twilight, New Moon and a fascination with evil. Vampires and werewolves are all the rage. Last night I saw over 100 teens lined up outside the theater waiting for the doors to open so they could flock to see New Moon.

Half the believers I talk seem to have no problem with this film even though it clearly is something Jesus would not endorse. Philippians 4:8 comes to mind!

I keep hearing about Team Jacob and Team Edward and I wish that Christians would start rallying around Team Jesus!

Let your eyes look straight ahead and your sight be focused in front of you. Carefully walk a straight path, and all your ways will be secure. Do not lean to the right or to the left. Walk away from evil. (Proverbs 4:25-27)

Habakkuk 1:13 says, "Your eyes are too pure to look at evil. You can't watch wickedness. Why do you keep watching treacherous people?"

Don't despise what God has revealed. Instead, test everything. Hold on to what is good. Keep away from every kind of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:20-22)

I have heard people say this is a romance story. Really? Do you really think Jesus would endorse dating a vampire? A werewolf?

Give your head a shake and open the Word of God.

Respect Your Elders!

Growing up my Mom and Dad use to tell me to respect my elders. I was raised to say yes ma'am/sir, no ma'am/sir, etc. My parents instilled in me a love for the older generations and for our history and heritage. They didn't know it but they were actually following the Scriptures.

"Show respect to the elderly, and honor older people. In this way you show respect for your God. I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:32)

I look at the world around us and sadly I don't see much respect for the elderly, or honor for that matter. 20 years ago euthanasia was a word I only heard about in conjunction with Hitler and Nazi Germany. Yet today 5 nations and 2 US states allow some forms of "legal" euthanasia. How long before the elderly will consider themselves "lucky" to be put into a nursing home?

Then there is the polite respect and honor we show older believers in the church. Some pastors, if they are lucky, are promoted to "senior" pastor, allowed to preach occasionally and brought back for anniversary services.

Seniors are encouraged to rest in their older years and let the younger generation take over the youth groups, the Sunday school classes, etc. Even chances to teach become minimized over time.

Why is that?

My heart aches when I talk to older believers who no longer are made to feel useful or valid. Believers who feel they have been put on a shelf, like an antique, nice to look at and take down occasionally but quickly put back before they "break".

I remember traveling with an older minister, in his late 70's, whom I could not keep up with. He has passed now, but I remember vividly one conversation we had in which I asked him about retirement. He said, "My retirement is eternity. Until then I must be about the Lord's business."

"We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you" (1 Thessalonians 5:12)

We can learn a lot from our elders. I guarantee they have been in our shoes before. They've dealt with sickness, financial struggles, doubt, etc and have come through the other side. We can learn from them the ways of the Lord. We can hear God's heartbeat for each generation in their testimonies of God's moving in their lifetimes.

It is time for the church to stand up for those who have come before and to sit down at their feet and listen to the Godly lessons they can share with us.

Don't let the testimonies fade. Be a receiver. Listen. Learn. Love.

Just A Thought #5

All Operators Are Busy Right Now

I found myself thinking recently about some phone calls I have made to various businesses. It seems no matter when I call I always get the same message..."All operators are busy right now. Your call is important to us, so please stay on the line and we will answer your call in the order it was received."

Prayer is important. I find myself more and more coming to a point in my life where I am praying without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Thank God that when we seek Him in prayer He doesn't give us the same message...."God is busy right now, your prayer is important to Him, please stay on your knees and He will answer your prayer in the order it was received!"

God is all knowing, compassionate, kind and swift to answer us when we call upon Him. He doesn't put us on hold. He hears our every cry.

He also speaks to us! The question is....are we listening?

God desires fellowship/relationship with us. Just as we like to spend time with friends and loved ones, getting to know them and their likes and dislikes, God wants us to spend time with Him finding out His desires for us. You only can know someone when you spend time with them. Listening for Him, walking with Him, talking to Him. We need relationship with God beyond just a quick prayer and Bible reading.

He desires to share His heart with us in intimate fellowship? The challenge for us is to make sure that we desire the same thing. Don't put God on hold until a better time. Talk with Him today!