Thank you to all who have served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard -

For those who have served in times of war and in times of peace -

For those who have given the ultimate sacrifice, for those who have seen their friends taken from them, for those who have returned home with scars on the inside as well as the out -

For those families who have waved good-bye to a father or mother, a son or daughter and stayed at home and served their families and communities as their loved ones served others -

For those who serve active duty and the reserve -

For those who help in times of natural disaster and man-made disaster -

Thank you for all that you do and all that give to help this nation and keep us free, and to help those around the world in need.

There is a story about a boy in Sunday School who is drawing a picture.  The teacher asks him what he is drawing and he answers, “I’m drawing a picture of God”.  “But no one knows what God looks like.” is the teacher’s response.  “They will when I’m done.” says the boy.

There is a movie coming out entitled “Oh My God” and deals with the question “Who is God?”  Check out the trailer below.

I think that too often our idea of who God is, is too small.  In fact there was a book entitled ‘You God is Too Small’.  Scripture tells us that we are created in God’s image, but in turn do we create God in our image?  How would you answer the question “Who is God?”

I’m looking forward to your comments.

How hard is prayer  for you?  Do you get discouraged easily?  Think about these questions as you read on.

This Sunday’s parable is the story of a widow and a judge from Luke 18:1-8. 

Jesus told his disciples a parable about their need to pray all the time and never give up.  He said, “In a city there was a judge who didn’t fear God or respect people.  In that city there was also a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’  For a while the judge refused. But later he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or respect people.  Yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice. Otherwise, she will keep coming and wear me out.’”

Then the Lord added, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says.  Won’t God grant his chosen people justice when they cry out to him day and night? Is he slow to help them?  I tell you, he will give them justice quickly. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

This has always been a strange parable to me and until recently, pushed it a bit to the side.  What are your images and thoughts  as you read  this story of Jesus’?  Lately this has  become convicting to me, especially the last sentence.  Having endurance in prayer means being faithful and being faithful means having endurance at times.  Sometimes when the results don’t come on our timetable, it is easy to get frustrated and lose heart, but this is a call to be faithful in prayer at all times and in all seasons.  Paul picks up this idea in Ephesians 6:18, Pray in the Spirit at all times with every kind of prayer and request there is. For the same reason be alert with every kind of effort and request for all the saints.

What keeps you from being faithful  in prayer to a loving and caring God who wants to give us what we need?

Your thoughts and comments are welcome.

I came across a website called PostSecret,  http://postsecret.blogspot.com/, where people mail their secrets and confessions on a post card and this guy posts them on the site and has written about 5 books that include many.  There is also a video about 3/4 of the way down of the founder doing an interview with one of the morning shows where he talks about the different reasons some people do this.  It is interesting to read some of these and to hear that the founder says that many times these are things we can not share in church.  I think that probably he is right.  Too often we are afraid to share who we really are in church where this should really be a place where we can feel comfortable and safe to share what is really happening and what we are feeling in our lives.

People probably feel comfortable and safe in sharing these because it is anonymous.  How much better would it be to share in a safe place where people will support and love you through your struggles, fears, and confessions; instead of feeling like you can’t share because of religious taboos.  The church should be that safe place; a place and a people who love and support each other and who help each other to grow and move forward to be who God has created them to be. 

 Here is a link to a review / article from Relevant magazine about the book and site:  http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/whole-life/features/18593-why-are-we-all-so-into-postsecret

Sunday’s text comes from Luke 12:13-21, the story that Jesus told about a man who had a lot and built barns to store it all.  Read the text below:

Then someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”  But Jesus said to him, “Mister, who appointed me to be a judge or arbitrator over you people?”  Then he said to them, “Be careful to guard yourselves against every kind of greed, for a person’s life doesn’t consist of the amount of possessions he has.”  Then he told them a parable. He said, “The land of a certain rich man produced good crops.  So he began to think to himself, ‘What should I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’  Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and I’ll store all my grain and goods in them.  Then I’ll say to my soul, “Soul, you’ve stored up plenty of good things for many years. Take it easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”‘  But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Now who will get the things you’ve accumulated?’  That’s how it is with the person who stores up treasures for himself and isn’t rich toward God.”

This story has me thinking about our society and how rich we really are and how we use and / or store away what we have been given and earned.  There is a fine line between being greedy and being smart; a line between hoarding what we have been given, and using our blessings to bless others.  We have all been affected by the resession that we are currently in, many of those “barns” have fallen.  My question for you today is – “Where do you see barns in our world being built and what should our response  be as believers and as the church body to what we have been blessed with?

I look forward to your comments and input.

I remeber exactly where I was when I heard the news of the attacks, as I’m sure many of you can too.  I had just returned from a breakfast committee meeting and turned on the radio and heard the news.  As all of us, I was shocked, angry, hurt, saddened, worried, etc. I called my wife and had her turn on the news and then sat and watched the coverage in disbelief.

Later that afternoon, I attended a prayer service to pray for the nation and all who were affected by the events of the day. One of the hymns that we sang was “It is Well with My Soul”. As I listened to those around me sing, I began to feel that it is NOT well with my soul, the events of the day were not right and the hatred and anger that brought them about was not right and we should not be saying, “it is well”.

I will never forget the feelings of that day, but I can work to make the world a better place.  The events of 9/11 came about from anger and hatred and have fostered anger, hatred and distrust around the world today.  I refuse to give into those feelings.  It is not well with my soul and I will keep working and praying for a better world.

Join me in praying for peace today, a peace around the world that comes through our faith and then put that faith into action and go and work for peace in whatever situation you are in.  We will never forget and I hope to keep the memory of the people and the events alive by working for peace today.

Many times when we talk about church, the word community is either said or implied. But what really does ‘church community’ mean?

Community is defined by Webster’s as
1. a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.
2. a locality inhabited by such a group.
3. a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists (usually prec. by the): the business community; the community of scholars.

Most often we think of community as those people we see face to face, work, school, neighborhood, church, family, etc.; but I think that the idea of community can be expanded.  The long standing idea that community is a group of people that we see and interact with is being expanded upon in the digital age through different media such as facebook, blogs, websites, texting, email groups, etc.  Just as in groups that you meet face to face with, interaction, caring, conversation, sharing, can be done in the virtual world.

Is this going to replace the commonly held idea of community?  I really hope not, because I enjoy being with people and spending time with them, but the online and virtual communities can be just as important.  Through these avenues we can join together with people from our past (high school, college, military), people from other parts of the world, people with other beliefs and views.  In general, our communities can be greater and more varied than we have had before.  I think this is a great opportunity but should not become the only way we interact with others.

What do you think?  Where is your strongest community?

I am a member of facebook but don’t do a lot of the games that are there, just not a lot of time.  One of the games that is popular is called Farmville and has you ‘owning’ your own farm and taking care of the crops and animals.  A couple times a day, the following message will come up on my home page,

_________ found a lonely Black Sheep on their farm. Oh no!  ______ was farming when a lonely Black Sheep wandered onto their farm in FarmVille. This poor sheep was abandoned because she’s a bit different from other sheep. She feels very sad and needs a new home.

These messages have got me thinking about people around us who also fit this catagory – they are lost and wandered into our lives, churches, homes, etc.  They maybe different, they may have different needs, they may not be like us, but they are looking for acceptance and a ‘home’.  Will we welcome them in with open arms and accept them where they are at in their lives?

In Luke 15, Jesus talks about lost sheep coming home and the celebration that comes on earth and in heaven.  Jesus sought out the lost and welcomed them home, even those who did not fit the normal mold.  Are you aware of those around you who maybe like the lost sheep in farmville?  Are you welcoming to the lost around you? 

Let’s commit to welcoming and providing a home and place of rest for those who need it by showing them Jesus’ love and being His hands, ears, and heart.

It has been a crazy summer and I am getting back on track with posting. 

This Sunday’s text comes from James 1 (see below) and is a follow up to last Sunday’s message on following even the hard teachings of Jesus.  Take a minute and read the text below.

Jas 1:17-27 Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father who created all the lights in the heavens. He is always the same and never makes dark shadows by changing. He wanted us to be his own special people, and so he sent the true message to give us new birth. My dear friends, you should be quick to listen and slow to speak or to get angry. If you are angry, you cannot do any of the good things that God wants done. You must stop doing anything immoral or evil. Instead be humble and accept the message that is planted in you to save you. Obey God’s message! Don’t fool yourselves by just listening to it. If you hear the message and don’t obey it, you are like people who stare at themselves in a mirror and forget what they look like as soon as they leave. But you must never stop looking at the perfect law that sets you free. God will bless you in everything you do, if you listen and obey, and don’t just hear and forget. If you think you are being religious, but can’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and everything you do is useless. Religion that pleases God the Father must be pure and spotless. You must help needy orphans and widows and not let this world make you evil.

James talks about not just hearing the Word but DOING the word and allowing God’s Word to change us and change the world.  What does that mean to you?  What would that look like in your life?  What difference would that make in your family, community, and world?

I look forward to your thoughts.

SUDDENLY . . .

SUDDENLY was the word of the night last night.  Rev. Thomas preached from the Acts 2 text where SUDDENLY the Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples  and others gathered and started what many call the first revival.  The disciples were gathered together for prayer, when SUDDENLY the Spirit came like a rushing wind and landed on each with what looked like fire.  That is considered the start of the Church.  That was the beginning of the apostles mission.  That day 3,000 people were added to their numbers.

SUDDENLY – what a wonderful word.  Too often we try and plan and say when and where the Spirit of God can show up instead of being open and aware of the Spirit.  We try and tell God what He is to do, instead of being open and praying that He will come and then being ready when SUDDENLY He is there in power.

There is a song that we have sung the last two nights by Robin Mark called ‘Revival’  some of the lyrics are below for you to read.

From the Preacher preaching when the well is dry
To the lost soul reaching for a higher high
From the young man working through his hopes and fears
To the widow walking through the veil of tears

Every man and woman, every old and young
Every fathers daughter, every mothers son.
I feel it in my spirit, feel it in my bones
You’re going to send revival, bring them all back home

I can hear that thunder in the distance
Like a train on the edge of town
I can feel the brooding of Your Spirit
“Lay your burdens down, Lay your burdens down”.

This is the second part of the song and if you would like to hear the whole thing, search it out on youtube.  To me this song is powerful and expresses the feeling of many, that there  is a work of God coming is some way and form to the world.  We can see it is some parts of the world, is some people’s lives, yet is is  continuing to come.  Are we ready when SUDDENLY He comes to us in power and does great things of revival in our lives and churches?

Be ready, be watching, because SUDDENLY . . .