Thursday, August 29, 2013

Commitment to the Cross

Mark:8:34: And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Jesus is looking for those that can deny themselves, pick up the cross and follow Him. We should:

Deny Ourselves – That’s means that the “bless me” brand of Christianity is out of touch with God’s expectations. It is about HIM not US. Our prayers about us, our songs about us, our selfish way of asking for what we want is not what Jesus is looking for.

Pick Up The CROSS – Bear it, wear it, live your life through it. Understand the price of it, glory in the persecution that comes with it, The way of the CROSS leads home…and every other way gets us lost and Hell bound.

Follow Jesus – Follow the example of His life, the teaching of His words, the direction of His Holy Spirit in your life. Literally become His disciple, His servant, a member of His Body, a subject of His Kingdom. He is more than a bracelet, a t-shirt, or a chrome fish on your car. He is GOD and He requires nothing less than TOTAL commitment.

Jesus wants Commitment, but some are on the outs:

Cop Outs – do not commit.
Hold Outs – are afraid to commit.
Drop Outs – commit, then quit.

Jesus needs All Outs – Set their sights, make the commitment, and pay the price to reach their goal.

Mark 8:35 : For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.

2Timothy:4:7-8: I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

ARE YOU COMMITED?

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Tuesday's Top Ten Things to do with your Labor Day!


Ever wonder about Labor Day? Ever try to make plans? Ever want to do something besides sit inside and watch the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon? Here’s a few ideas:

10. Find out who is in labor, why it is taking all weekend, and tell her to PUSH.

9. Google Labor Day, find out why we have it, and celebrate the fact that it is a working person’s holiday to celebrate the efforts of American labor.

8. Point out to your spouse that the “honey-do” list you have been given is sacrilegious, making her hard-working spouse work on a day pretty much dreamed up to give us an extra day off.

7. Go ahead and finish the list anyway, because your spouse is quick to remind you that she never gets a day off.

6. Make the pilgrimage to Ace, Lowes, or Home Depot. Body armor and a reinforced credit card are recommended.

5. Hit the beach, the mountains, the amusement park or your preferred vacation destination, cause now’s the time when it’s really not that crowded. Not.

4. Add enough chlorine to the pool to cancel out the family, friends and semi-potty trained kids that will visit for one last summer dip.

3. Break out the grill, the ice cream freezer and untangle the dry rotted volleyball net in the garage.

2. Winterize your white belt and shoes for next year. You probably want to stow the seersucker too.

1. Ponder the fact that Christmas is less than four months away…and 2014 comes a week after.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

W.T.L.

"Are you a minister?" he asked. I was sitting in the Arcade downtown at lunch, taking refuge from a sudden cloud burst, eating a container of fried rice from one the local Chinese places. I was dressed like ten thousand other office ants, so I don't know why he picked me out of a crowd- I left my Bible at the house and my halo...well if I ever had one, I left it somewhere a long time ago. "Yes, I am," I answered, "Pull up a chair and have a seat."

He was a newspaper vendor, selling one of those papers designed to allow folks to ask for help without running afoul of the Nashville panhandling law. He was African American, maybe sixty, and he looked tired, but happy. "Well, Praise God!" he said. "My name is William Thomas Liddell. W.T.L. - You know what that stands for?" I said I did not. "The Way, the Truth and the Life," he said with a smile.

I asked him how he was doing and he began to tell me about his wife, that was suffering from headaches that could be neurological, could be vascular related- hard to tell. She was supposed to get some tests run this next week. He told me about his rent- $47.50 a day. Obviously, they were living in a hotel somewhere in the area.

I told him I couldn't solve all his problems, but I would buy a paper and handed him a rolled up five spot. Then I asked him if I could pray with him and took his hand and prayed for him, his success, his wife's healing, and rest for his tired feet. He looked me in the eye and said, "I love you, Rev," to which I replied sincerely, "I love you too."

I thought a lot about William last night and this morning. Maybe I'll see him again on the street; maybe not- you never know. But I hope to see him in Heaven one day, where there are no headaches, no money troubles, no worries.

I wrote this today because I want to ask you to take a moment and pray for William and his wife. Pray for their safety, provision and healing. Pray for a man that knows a brother when he sees one...pray for someone that takes his own name and finds Jesus there. W.T.L.- The Way, The Truth, The Life.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Just Like Daddy


 
Genesis 1:26-28 says that God created us to be in His image. Just like a little child that wants to the wear the clothes of their parents, imitate their walk, their talk and their work, we are supposed to take after Him...and we do. God has given mankind characteristics that reflect His nature.  

We are creators.
The creative gift of God and desire to create is bestowed upon us. We reflect it with technology, skilled trades and art.
That's just like Him- God created everything around us to frame His masterpiece- you.

We are restorers.
We have an eye to see the ability to restore, repair, repurpose- it’s that desire to give something a second chance. God is a second chance God, repairing and restoring broken hearts, homes, lives.

We are social.
We long for fellowship, companionship, interaction. God longed for that so much that we were the result of that longing. He walked with Adam in the garden, He spoke with Moses on the mountain, and He came in the flesh as Christ so that if we trust in Him, we might have the ability to walk with God for eternity.

We take authority.
Physically, we force our will on the earth and shape it to our will. We force the dark into corners, the heat and cool outside, roads into mountains, rivers into lakes. God’s ultimate will be always be accomplished- all of creation is under His control.

So go out and be like your Father today. Do it for His glory...and never forget that you were made in His image.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Green Pastures and Still Waters

Green Pastures and Still Waters (Psalm 23:2)

The Shepherd wants to be more than our protector and provider- He wants to be our LORD.
He wants to make us do something. He’s not asking or suggesting- He’s MAKING us lie down. When we live our lives without submission unto God, we miss out on His blessing, protection and plan.

We need to lay down where Jesus wants us, not where we want to go.
Too many of us spend all our time tearing down fences, eating up somebody else’s grass, getting scratched in the barb wire, picking up weed seed when we eat and bring it back home when we void in our own pasture. That's how false doctrine and carnal living enter the church.

He makes us lay down so we have time to digest the Nutrition of God.
When livestock eat in green pastures and never lay down, they "founder" or "bloat", a condition caused when the animal doesn't take the time to let the food they've eaten digest and it just sits like a rock in the stomach and fills the gut with gas. Sometimes we feast on the presence of God, but never let it digest and give us the growth and strength we need. God doesn’t want us to founder or bloat- there are too many Christians full of hot air as it is.

Still Waters run Deep - A lot of Christians and a lot of churches are a mile wide and an inch deep. God is tired of shallow lives, hearts, relationships and churches. We need some depth in our walk with Christ.

Some of us are afraid of the “Still” part.
We do not like silence, we do not like the soul searching presence of God when it gets still. We can’t stand our own company and we’re afraid of His.

Some of us are afraid of the “Deep” part.
We are so afraid that we might get in over our head, lose our life, and lose our control. But for us to get what God has for us, we need to do both. We need to die to self as we submerge ourselves in His presence.

Will you lay down when He makes you…will you wade in where He leads you?

Monday, August 12, 2013

Tuesday's Top Ten: Ways to make someone feel UNWELCOME at church


There has been much written about how to make guests feel welcome at church, but I thought it would be both fun AND thought provoking this week to look at the top ten ways to make someone feel UNWELCOME and UNWANTED. Here’s a few things that you may have seen:

10. Making guests stand up and tell us their name- there is nothing more fearful than calling attention to yourself in front of a group of rank strangers.

9. Publicly encouraging guests to come on down and sit on the front row. It gives you that “I’m in trouble with the teacher” vibe.

8. Telling someone they are sitting in YOUR seat; OR not addressing them personally, but saying that they took YOUR seat to someone else within earshot of the said guest. After all, you PAY YOUR TITHES and your great Uncle Leroy paid for that pew. (His name is even on a little brass plate to prove it.)

7. Reserved parking for the pastor, staff, etc. just outside the front door, without any reserved parking for guests. Because there aren’t enough people that already feel like church leaders are high and mighty.

6. Announcements full of inside jokes and references that guests won’t get. (It’s just like missing the first half hour of a movie and spending the rest of the time trying to understand what’s happening.)

5. Insistence on the wearing of visitor name tags- because branding irons are a little too uncomfortable.

4. No one greets, smiles or acknowledges the guests. We wouldn’t want them to think we are glad they are there would we?

3. Airing disagreements or personality conflicts loudly and publicly. Nothing makes someone feel at home like a good old fashioned church fight.

2. Call attention to what they are wearing (positively or negatively). Every church has a culture that is the norm- for some it’s ties, for others it’s tattoos. If your guest is out of the loop, by all means, point it out.

1. Make sure you let them know you don’t like change and that you want the church to stay small. They will get the hint and stay away.

Obviously, we wouldn’t want to make someone feel unwelcome… or would we? Sometimes I wonder, because I have seen every one of these take place. It’s time to think about the message we are sending guests- because you only get one chance to make a FIRST impression.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Unfinished Business

On a busy "Friday Eve", sometimes it's easy to lose focus, misplace priorities. This afternoon, I thought I'd share a poem with you I wrote sometime back. I call it...Unfinished Business.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

The work at hand is never done;
It beckons more to do.
The projects pile,
And ideas run,
Until the day is though.

Our business here keeps us awake;
For more we volunteer,
Until the hours have turned to days,
And days turned into years.

One day the clock will sound no more,
Our ears will not awake;
Our eyes will gaze upon a throne,
Upon a crystal lake.

The Master there will call our name,
An appointment we will keep;
No excuse, no sick day,
No time to oversleep.

And on that day, when we stand,
For judgment then to be;
The Master’s voice will ask our soul,
“What have you done for Me?”

Our follies then will be laid bare,
The worthless time we’ve spent;
In work that seemed important once,
But now not worth a cent.

We may dredge up some charity,
Some ministry to claim;
But the greatest work, for which He looks,
Was when we called His name.

For if we never own His death,
His mercy and His grace;
Then our work is all for naught,
And He will turn His face.

So the most important business task,
That you can do today;
Is bow your knee, bare your heart,
Open up and pray.

Ask the Lord into your heart,
To wash away your sin;
Let Him work, let Him speak,
And let Him dwell within.

For the time, it swiftly goes,
Our strength and life diminished;
Until one day, your work on earth,
Will be completely finished.

When that day comes, the worries of
Your heart will fall away;
Unfinished work? It matters not,
If Christ has come to stay.


Have a great afternoon...and keep the main thing the main thing.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Book Signing at White House Public Library - Monday, August 12!!!

There will be a Book Signing at White House Public Library on August 12, 2013, at 5 PM. Come by and pick up a copy of "The Last Great Adventure", or get your copy signed by the author. This story features hometown girl Kelsie Trobaugh, with her boyfriend Noah, as they pass from this life into the adventure of Heaven. Come by and share your stories of Kelsie!

Tuesdays Top Ten: Things to do with your time since the kids went back to school!


The kids are back in school...you've wrung the tears out of your hanky after watching the little darlings head off to the bus stop and posted their picture on Facebook with their school clothes on and lunch boxes in hand. But now you have all this time on your hands. What to do? Here's a few ideas...
10. Figure out how to put a parental block on the remote for Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, M-TV, and the Disney Channel.

9. Get the peanut butter and chewing gun out of the family pet’s hair.

8. Bone up on your math skills…homework is coming.

7. Save up for purchase of magazines, candy bars, discount cards, candles, and other assorted fund raiser items that you will be expected to sell and/or purchase.

6. Use those bath beads you got for Christmas in 2003.

5. Re-acquaint yourself with adults and adult conversation. Start slow…don’t strain your vocal cords. Remember to use your “inside” voice, instead of your “come back here so I can knock the taste out of your mouth” voice.

4. Plan a daytime menu that does not consist of popsicles, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Chef Boyardee.

3. Call your child’s teacher and make sure the kids are actually going to school and that the teacher actually exists.

2. Burn this year’s summer clothes that fit so they don’t make a comeback next year as a perennial favorite that is way too tight and way too short.

1. Take a much deserved nap…they will be home around 3:30.   

Friday, August 2, 2013

School, Temptation and Synergy


Wednesday night at our church, someone asked for prayer for the kids as they go back to school. They didn’t ask for wisdom to do their school work; they didn’t ask for protection from being hit by a school bus or an errant dodge ball. They asked for protection from temptation.

I thought that was a good prayer request, because the synergy of a group’s proclivities and strengths include the synergy to sin. (Pastors, feel free to steal that nifty little nugget for a sermon title.) The temptation of each individual feeds off the temptation of another, to make the compounded temptation greater than the sum of its parts. This is especially true of a group of people with a lack of spiritual, emotional and mental maturity; people like school kids.

This reminded me of another group of people that got into trouble because they got together. Nimrod and his little kingdom in Genesis 11 got the bright idea that they could build a tower all the way to Heaven. Whether they planned to take over or just move in, the motive was simple; bypass God to get to Heaven. It was here that the synergy of their sin got the attention of God himself when He said, “Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.” (Verse 6) So, God upset the apple cart by confounding their language so they could not communicate.

So pray for our kids as they go back to school. Pray that they don’t act like a bunch of “Nimrods” and try to live life without Jesus. Pray that you don't do the same in the groups you attend, like work, or family, or even church. Because life is confusing enough as it is.