"It's the End of the World as We Know It!" or "Enough Troubles for Today"

The other day I went and checked the mail and in the mail was a pamphlet from Texas letting me know the end of the world was going to be this week! (Thanks for the warning!) Some guy had looked in the Bible and figured out the secret countdown for the world's expiration date and it is on May 21, 2011.

At first, I was so relieved because I have A LOT to get done, and if the world is ending then I don't have to do most of it! However, I know that even though I am not guaranteed to wake up on May 22nd, the odds are I will. So I continue to plan and work and look forward to my vacation next month! I have decided the end of the world is not a good enough reason for let up on the tasks God has given me for this day, this week, and this year! No matter what some guy who misuses Scripture to prove whatever point He is trying to make.

It amazes me, this guy could know something which Jesus did not even know. The Scriptures clearly says it is not up to us to figure the times or dates of the these things. I have got enough stuff going on in my life which requires my time, energy, prayer, and focus without having to worry if the world is going to end this week or next week or next year or whenever. I just try to remember Christ is coming back and I just need to be ready when He does, whenever He does.

So, on May 21st, I will be getting ready for May 22nd, Sunday, to worship the God who has all these things under control!

"Worn Out and Worn Down" or "No Rest For the Wicked"

This morning I woke up to go do my workout for the day, and something very unexpected happened. My body said, "I don't think so!" I argued with it and started to get ready to leave the house, but every step I took was labored. My body just refused to do anything I wanted it to. I knew what I needed to do. I just needed to go back and rest and give my body a break. And as fun and easy as it sounds, it was hard just to admit I could not workout today. I had to admit to myself it did not matter how strong, tough or determined I think I am, I had to rest.

There is a stigma against resting. We tend to think of rest with laziness. We tend to think if we are not constantly pushing, moving, or working then we are failing as people or believers. However the Scriptures plainly say there still remains a rest for the people of God.

Rest is an important part of our physical and spiritual well being. Physically, rest gives the body time to rebuild and recoup in order to be stronger and healthier for the next time demands are placed on it. Spiritually, rest gives us time to just be with God. Rest is necessary as we strive to reach a lost world with the Gospel. There are times when God just wants to build us up and allow us to be ready for the mission God has planned for us.

So this morning I slept in a little, for tomorrow I get back to work. So, kick back and relax a bit. Then get back to work. You'll be better for it.

"Afraid For Our Lives" or "Is It Really All That Bad?"

I have been getting really down lately. Every time I turn on the TV, all I see is the bad news going on all around us. Gas prices are going up again, wars in the Middle East, bickering in Washington, and on and on and on it goes. Then I had to stop myself and think about it for a second. Hasn’t gas been going up for years? When was the last time there was peace in the Middle East? Has Washington EVER been peaceful? Yet we are all up in arms because the loudest in society is drawing our attention towards it!

I have had the pleasure of hearing many people talk about what God has done in their lives lately. The stories which I hear everyday are quite amazing! In a different part of the Kentucky, teenagers are changing a county because of their love for God and their enthusiasm in reaching their friends regardless of the obstacles the “grown-ups” at church put in their way! Friends and family of mine are selling their houses and possession because they are headed out to reach a lost world for Christ! This Easter, people from all walks of life are reflecting on what the Cross means to them and their lives! People from all over the country have left home and family on order to train at a Bible College so they could be useful for the Kingdom of God! And the stories just go on and on and on. These are just the stories I have heard this week alone!

So next time, the news gets you down and the troubles of this world seem overwhelming, just remember that under the noise, a real movement of God is happening! All you have to do is open your eyes and see it! (And turning off the TV might not be a bad idea either!)

"OOOHHH, Look Shiny!" or "I Don't Suffer From ADD, I Enjoy Every Minute of It!"

One of the things that have shaped my life is the fact I have ADD. I didn't know I had ADD until about 10 years ago, because when I was a kid there was no ADD. You were just a hyperactive kid or unfocused kid! But I have learned over the years how to live and actually thrive with my ADD. Then a couple of months ago I found a new therapy for ADD. I refuse to take the prescription drugs so this therapy relied on Vitamins and Supplements. I took them and within a week I notice remarkable changes. I was more focused, less distracted. I slept easier. The "voices" (most of them mine) quieted. It seemed the a great solution!

One problem though, I never realized how much I had grown to depend on my ADD. I kept telling Steph things were too quiet. I couldn't come up with answers quite as quickly! I would be so focused I could no longer do 3 things at once! In short, I hated it!! I went off the therapy immediately and now appreciate this "abnormality" in my life. I love my ADD and what it allows me to do. Sure I would to be able to sleep more and easier, but I won't give up what it allows me to do while I am awake! Even as I write this blog I am busy with 3 others things. I am preparing my sermon for Sunday, learning Russian, and checking on my garden.

There will always be things in our lives we will not like about ourselves, but they make us into who we are! They mold and shape us into the people God wants us to be. Embrace the flaws! Celebrate abnormality! Enjoy the dysfunction! You might just find out you would miss them if they left!

"Can't We All Just Get Along!" or "We Are The World"

Many years ago, a group of musicians all got together and recorded a single of which the sales were to go to the starving kids of Africa. Everyone alive during that time knew the song and could recite it with ease. The concept of the lyrics were considered to be idealistic and probably unsustainable in world with hate and strife. Even still, it gave everyone hope that maybe, just maybe, the world could unite for this one moment, and perhaps carry it on to others avenues as well. Of course this never materialized, but the sentiment was admirable.

A couple years ago, God was speaking to me about the need for the churches in the area I am serving in to unite and worship together. Little did I know, God had placed this same desire in 2 other men as well. Through a series of unlikely events, we all met and decided to hold a Creative Arts worship service for any church who wanted to be involved. I had heard this was impossible. I had heard we would go strong for 6 months then it would fizzle out. But God had a different plan.

When we started, we laid out a few ground rules.

1st, no sermons. We wanted to focus on those things which would unite us, not divide us. When you have a sermon, it is very likely a lot of people will disagree with the interpretation of the Word of God and thus they would not return.

2nd, Unity would be achieved through accepting those things which were different, but not wrong. We have African-American Churches, Rural churches, and white city churches all in the same service. So in this same service, you would have urban Gospel dancing one moment followed by a quartet of southern Gospel, followed by Skits and dramas. You just never knew what to expect! But we made should to celebrate our diversity. They aren't wrong, just different!

3rd, We would emphasize the fact that Jesus is the head of the church. And We, all of us,are the church! Different styles, One Savior! Different Locations, One Church! Different Look, Same Family! The World will know you are mine if you love one another!

As a result, we have grown and grown and grown! So much, the places we normally have the services are too small! Henderson County churches are coming together in record numbers, 2 years later!!! Now, we have churches partnering together in ministry that have never even spoken together before! They are even performing at the services together. God is doing a cool thing, and we seeing God use this thing He created to reach people who would have never heard before!

So let's continue to get along! Let's continue to serve with each other! Let's continue to realize we are not in competition, but rather we are on the same team!!!! All for the Glory of Jesus!!!!!

"It Takes Time To Grow" or "You Have WHAT In Your Garden?"

We've decided to give it another go this year. We are going to try and plant a garden again. Last year, our lives were very much up in the air that we couldn't do one. The year before that, a family of rabbits decided to help themselves to our garden. The year before that, we discovered God will not water your garden for you and a consistent basis! But with lessons learned, we are going to attempt to grow not just any garden, but an organic garden.

Most of the plants we buy are already started for us and we just transplant them into the ground. But a few, about 30 and counting, are being started from seeds. the ones we are planting from seeds are mostly unusual plants I never knew existed. We have purple, red, and white carrots. Purple tomatoes. Snow white cucumbers. Orange Watermelons. Purple potatoes. White Squash. Spaghetti Squash. And a whole assortment of herbs. (Bet ya want an invite to our cookout now, don't ya???) We do these unusual plants, frankly to keep me interested. I get bored with the usual garden items you can find in any grocer or farmer's market. I need to go beyond that. I need to stretch and grow as a gardener. (pun intended)

But we all need that in our everyday lives. Many years ago someone invented a revolutionary concept which is still being used today to stretch and grow us as Christ Followers. That concept was called Sunday School. It has gone through some changes and evolution over the years. In some churches the name has changed, in others the times and locations have changed, but the concept has basically stayed the same; A small group of people getting together to discover what the Word of God says about how God wants me to live my life today.

It is a wonderful, yet challenging time with a group of friends where we can discuss and help each other work through the issues and problems of our everyday lives. If you are not involved in a Sunday School/Bible Study/Fellowship Class then find one! You'll be glad you did!!!!

"I'm Bored" or "I'm Given All She's Got, Captain!"

There is one phrase you rarely hear around my house. It is, "I'm Bored!" Any time the girls use these two words of agony, then the next reply is always, "O.k. I have some laundry that needs to be done", or "I have dishes which need to be wash" or some other household chore just waiting for bored girls to take a hold of. So, now they have learned to suffer silently, quietly wishing things could be better, or at least more exciting.

The church seems to be this way. We have a lot of people sitting in the pews, bored, but afraid that someone will give them a job to do if they would dare utter their discontentment. They are bored with the same old, same old, week in and week out. Every year they know exactly what is going to happen, so they feel no compulsion to get up and do something new or even better.

There is another group in the church who do not have time to be bored. They are busy running in and out scurrying along doing the same jobs they have done for the last 20 years, whether they are effective or not. They don't have time to evaluate if lives are being changed or to even consider if God may want to do something new!

Maybe one of the problems of the church today is our calendars are full of predictable, ineffective activity which has not be prayed over or sought God's advise on. What if we did something so unpredictable the world had to stand up and take notice as we attempt unprecedented steps for the sole purpose of Knowing Him and Making Him Known?

What can you do? What will you do?

"Suggestions?" or "Wonderful Words of Life?"

Last Night, I watched, appalled and dismayed, Rob Bell spend a whole hour talking about Heaven and Hell and mishandling Scripture in such a reckless manner. He kept referring to Hell as an experience here on Earth, and Heaven as a way of living. People would ask pointed questions about heaven and Hell and He would take God's Word and interpret it in such a way that even my 9 year old could see that was not the meaning of the text. But then, it got me thinking, and that is always a dangerous thing.

Aside from the heretical teaching of Rob Bell, how have I handled Scripture in the past? I have to take a honest look and see that there is a real temptation in me to use Scripture in order to make my point. Whether or not it is the right point, is this the reason God has given us His Word?

God has sent us His word for one main reason. (There are many reason we gave us His Word but only one main reason) So we may know Him. Plain and simple, He wants us to get to know who He is. He wants us to interact with Him on a daily basis for purpose of getting to know the One who has created us and this world in which we live. He wants us to be able to see within His heart and mind. And the journey into the heart and mind of God is scary and wonderful adventure in which will absolutely change the very fabric of your being!

This knowledge of Him explains why we have the Law, Grace,Mercy, the Cross, Resurrection, and a host of incredible doctrines. All of this is so we can hear, feel, touch, and experience the unfathomable.

Rob says God is Love. He is right. But, He is so much more than just love. How do I know this.The B-I-B-L-E Yes, that's the book for me. I stand alone on the Word of God, the B-I-B-L-E! The ancient reformers were famous for proclaiming, "Sola Scriptura!" (Scripture Alone) they knew that all we do should be, need to be, desperately has to be based on His word.

Know Him? Read His Word!

"What's The Point?" or "Will You Be My Neighbor?"

I remember growing up and watching Mr. Rogers neighborhood. It seemed like a magical place where everyone knew and liked each other. A place where everyone cared and helped each other whenever there was a need. What a great place to live, I often thought.

The problem began when I grew up and the real world began to take shape. There were some in the neighborhood who were friendly for sure, but never had i seen the friendship and love I saw in the neighborhood of Fred Rogers.

Then I read the Scriptures and see the commands of God of how we are to treat each other and especially how we are to treat those who live among us and have yet have tasted the goodness of God's Grace!

However, we, in the church, have treated our neighbors as if they are our opponents or enemies who are out to try and harm us in every way imaginable. Or we seek them out in order to build up the church or reach a goal instead of loving them into kingdom of God and investing our lives into them because of love.

Let us look upon those who live among no longer with a suspicious eye or cautious acceptance. But rather, let us open up our arms and hearts and embrace them as people who God loves and as a result we love as well!

"Do I Know Them?" or "Can't We All Just Get Along?"

I remember when I first bought my Jeep. There was a strange thing which happened as I drove around. Random people began to wave at me as if I knew them. It took me a while then I realized the people who were wave at me, were all driving a Jeep as well! Since then I have discovered the Jeep culture of fellowship and comradeship which exist in the Jeep community. Those of us who drive Jeeps understand it is more than just a vehicle which gets us from one place to another. There is a feeling which only Jeep owners understand and that feeling binds us together.

In the church today, there is seems to be a disjointing of brotherhood and fellowship. The church is so busy worrying about what everyone else is doing or what they are wearing or other meaningless pursuits. As Brothers and Sisters in Christ, there is a bond which no one could ever possibly understand. That bond is forged in Blood and Grace. Those of us who have experienced the salvation which only came through the sacrifice of One who had no need or want, should seek to bind ourselves together.

However, we are too busy in worldly pursuits of envy, greed, and worst of all, pride. Humility is a trait so often talked about and so seldom seen in the church today. Too many of us act as if we have got it all figured out and thus impose upon others the constraints of legalistic demands which have, at best, slim Biblical foundation.

How we should long for the day when the church shows the world today what true fellowship looks and feels like. Let come, Lord and let come now!

"A Messy Relationship" or "Intimacy with God"

If there is one word which would describe my prayer life, it would be messy. I know, as a Pastor, my description ought to inspire and convey a sense of desire to reach out to God more and more. I wish I could, but the reality of it is my prayer life is so messy and fraught with contradiction. There are times when they are so full of faith and confidence. Then there are times when I hardly know what to even say. These times I come to God and wonder whether or not He even wants to listen to me when I have failed Him over and over. But the amazing thing is, He always is there to hear me, no matter what. That's what a Father does.

Prayer is one of the most important things we can do as followers of Jesus. It helps to keep us connected to a God who who wants to spend time with us and help us. In the past couple days, we have two amazing healings take place simply because God's People took time and asked Him to do it. But what about the times when God says no. What do we do then? If you are like me, then comes the pouting and the sulking and the questioning and sometimes the anger. But God is so patient with us, He is still there waiting for us to simply trust that He has the Best in mind.

What are you waiting for God to do? Our you willing for it not to be done in order to see God's best? (Even it is painful in the process?) Trust and Obey for there is no other way to happy in Jesus, than to Trust and Obey! Great Hymn, Great Truth!

"Being On Mission" or "What? You Want Me To Go?"

The first part of the prayer from the previous post was, Missions will no longer be a Faceless idea, but rather we interact directly with reaching the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

For too long we have regulated the idea of missions to those people who have a special "call" to leave everything behind and reach the world for Jesus. We have been deceived in thinking missions is for the "Super Christian" but not normal people like me. Yet, there is no way we can read the Word of God and come to this understanding. Missions is an incredible privilege for those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ.

I have, the last several years, been trying to reconcile the words of Scripture and the actions of the churches, who believe they are doing missions because they send money to a big fund, or who happen to mention Missionaries in their prayers a couple times of year. The more I read the Scriptures, the more I come to understand the Great Commission's first word is to "Go", not send, not help others to "Go", but rather to "Go" ourselves. Helping others and sending money is great, but not to the exclusion of "Going" ourselves.

Your mission may not be to Africa, Russia, or China. But what about work, school, family, or down the street? We can not be true to the Great Commission and sit in comfort at home occupying our time with frivolousness. It is time for us to "Go"!

"Prayers for the Church" or "God, Are you sure?"

2 weeks ago I preached a sermon based on an experience I had in my office. I was getting ready for my normal sermon for Sunday Morning, when I felt VERY compelled to begin to pray for the church here at Spottsville. As I began to pray, words began to flow out of my mouth I had no idea where they were coming from. So, as the Holy Spirit was praying for this church I began to write down the prayer. I took it upstairs and showed it to Steph and all she could say was that it was from God.

Sunday Morning, I preached this prayer, not knowing what the reaction would be, or even caring. I just knew this is what God wanted them and me to hear. The reaction so far has been incredible. Lives are getting back in touch with God. The church is excited once again about our direction and I really believe this is just the beginning as God begins to answer what is really, His own prayer for us.

Here is the prayer I prayed and in the next weeks I will begin to expand on each point.

Missions will no longer be a Faceless idea, but rather we interact directly with reaching the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Prayer will no longer be a religious exercise but rather it becomes an intimate experience with a God who desperately wants to meet with us.

Fellowship will no longer be a place of criticism and judgment but rather a place of forgiveness and grace.

Our Community will no longer be a separate place of ministry and life, but rather it will be an extension of our campus.

God’s Word will no longer be a nice book of suggested ways of living, but rather it will be the basis of all we do personal and corporately.

The Calendar will no longer be a predictable tradition of ineffective activity, but rather will be filled with opportunities for changed lives and expanded ministry.

Our Sunday School will no longer be just another Service Time which people feel obligated to attend, but rather be an intensive time where we grow more in Christ and with each other.

We will no longer be an exclusive group doing independent ministry, but rather seek to partner with more churches to reach our community, county, state, and world for Jesus Christ.