Christmas

is one of my favorite times of the year, (as I may have mentioned in my last post) I enjoy the Christmas eve church gathering, i enjoy getting together with my friends and family, and I even enjoy getting gifts.
what I also enjoy is giving gifts. I delivered a Christmas box that our Church board put together yesteday and the people who received it were very very pleased to receive it. Something deep inside of me felt good. i dont know if I can explain it, other than it truly is better to give than to receive. Anyway, I hope that whomever is reading this note has a wonderful Christmas Season and a enjoyable next decade...

Update

Sorry it's been a while since my last post, but I haven't been "inspried" to post anything, I'm still not overly inspred, but I will try to say something.
It's the Chirstmas Season, (sorry to state the obvious) and I love this time of the year. Not simply becasue of my profession, but becasue I am a Christ Follower.
Christmas is the time that we celebrate what God did for us--> He became flesh. He became a man, He experienced life, death, pain, suffering.. the miracle of Christmas is that God became one of us.
Why did God become one of us? So we might spend eternity (which is, in case you're wondering, is here and now, and when we die) with Him. that;s how much God loves us. He loves us so much that He was willing to leave the comforts of Heaven, and come to this earth to make it possbile for me to come to God.
This is why I love Christmas, becasue of what Jesus did for me. He became Flesh.
Thanks, Lord Jesus.

10 commandments

I just finished preaching-- i will finish this coming Sunday- a sermon series devoted to the 10 commandments. You remember them right?
These were the rules that God gave His people, the ones that He wanted them to obey. I have often wondered if they still apply today.
Well, after studying and preaching on them for the last 8 weeks, (I'm good.. getting 10 into 8...) I have learnt that they are very much as relavent today as they were when God Gave them to Moses and His people.
They can be broken down into 2 classes #1-4 relate to loving God
Commandments 6-10 relate to loving our neighbor.
It seems that Jesus said this same thing when He said in Matthew 22:37-40 Love God with all your heart... and love your neighbor as yourself.. all the law's and prophets hang on these 2 commands." (The nick abbreviated version.. but read it for yourself and see...)
We cannot love our neighbor unless we are loving God. We cannot love God without loving our neighbor.
Chances are if you are having a hard time loving someone, you might not be loving God. It does work like that. If you are serving someone other than God, all your other relationships will be out of wack.
If we want to keep the 10 commandments, we've got to love God and love people. It really is that simple.

Rick Mercer....

Had some good words for the H1N1 due, on his show "the Rick Mercer report". I've attached a link to it, check it out:
http://www.rickmercer.com/blog/index.cfm/2009/11/3

Let me know what you think about this flu thing.

H1N1

H1N1. Two letters and two numbers that strike fear in so many people.
Do you or do you not get the vaccine?
“What happens if you don’t get vaccinated?” “How bad will the sickness actually be”? “Could you die from H1N1”?
These are just a fraction of the many unanswered questions that many people have regarding this pandemic.
In short, everyone is wondering “what are we to do?”
I am not honestly sure if I have an answer to that question. I do, however, have an answer for this question: “What are we not to do”?
We are not to be afraid!
This may sound crazy to so many of you, but not only do I believe this is true, I also believe that not being afraid is a Biblical response.
In the unknown, and really all of life is an unknown, we are not to fear. We are to trust.
We are to trust in God.
Psalm 56 says: “When I am afraid, I will trust in you.4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid….” (3-4, NIV)
In the New Testament, we see Jesus saying to His disciples, over and again “Fear Not”:
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” (John 14:1, NIV)
“(Jesus) said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" (Mark 4:40. NIV)
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27, NIV)
The Message of Jesus is that disciples of Jesus Christ are not to be afraid. Disciples of Jesus are to trust.
Paul wrote in 2 Timothy: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Tim. 1:7, NLT2)
Christian aren’t supposed to fear, Christians are supposed to trust.
“On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand…” the hymn writer wrote so many years ago…
While the talk of H1N1 might put fear in some people; let H1N1 put trust in each of you- Trust that when things don’t make sense to us; that they make complete sense to Jesus.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Pr 3:5-6, NIV)

Getting Shot

My family and I got shot yesterday. More specifically we got our H1N1 vaccinations. I have never done something like this before, and I was pleasantly surprised at the calmness of the crowd. No one seemed to be “in a hurry”, no one seemed to be in a bad mood, and I did not notice anyone getting upset at the wait time. Although I was getting tired of waiting by the end of it, but waiting 2 hours was better than waiting 7hours, has some people have had to wait.
Seeing all the people in line yesterday reminded me of Jesus. I said to my wife, something to the effect of “this line brings to life the life of Jesus.”
You see, over and over again in the New Testament, sick people were brought to Jesus. People heard where Jesus was and they took their sick relatives and friends to where He was. In one case, people even removed the roof of a house because the crowds were so long.
I began to wonder, If Jesus was present in our day, physically, as He is here today in His Holy Spirit, and would we stand in line to see Him, to touch Him, to let Him heal us?
I believe that He still heals today. I believe that He wants to heal today. I believe that He can heal today, I just wonder if we don’t ask Him enough. Now I don’t understand, and can’t completely explain why some people are healed and other people are not healed, but I do know this… Jesus is willing to touch all people. We just need to stand in line and ask Him to fill us with all that He is and all that He wants to give us.
I don’t know if the H1N1 shot will keep me from getting sick, but I do know that asking Jesus to come in my life was the best decision I’ve ever made. I wonder if you will allow Him to heal you… as the prophet Isaiah once said “By his wounds we are healed.” (Is. 53:6, NIV)
Let me know what you think!

Worry

I've been doing some thinking lately, sometimes this is dangerous, but sometimes it's not.
It's good to think, and it's actually is a gift from God to be able to think and share a thought process. but sometimes overthinking is a bad thing.
Sometimes I over-think things. I over think my work, I overthink why people arent coming to church, I over think most all things.... You know what the bible says about over thinking--- dont do it! Actually, the correct words are found in Philippians 4:6--"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (NIV)
God doesnt want me to worry about things that are beyond my control-- He simply wants me to Trust that He is in control and that He knows what's going on. Jesus said this in Matthew 6:"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" the obvious answer is we can't add anything to our lives by worring, we can only subtract from them. and when I worry, I do exactly that, I subtract from my life, I think of all things that are not good. what I need to do in those times is think about good things--> Paul continues this thought in verse 8: "...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-- think about such things." (NIV)

God does not want me wasting my time thinking thoughts that are potentially destructive. He wants me to think about this of heaven, not on earthly things. ( See Col. 3) This is "easy" to do when things are going fine, but when things are harder, it is somewhat more complicated. But with God as my helper, I will resolve to think good thoughts-- just like the thoughts that He thinks about me.

Thanksgiving

This past weekend was thanksgiving, and while i may be late with this posting, it's as the old wise man once said "Better late than never" {to which (or so I imagine) his wife responds "better never late"}

Allow me to state a few of the things i am thankful for:
1. the Lord Jesus Christ. wihtout His changing me, I would not be where I am today. His Grace has saved me, and He is, little by little, each day changing me into the person I need to be.

2. I'm thankful for my parents. They did the best they could with what-- or who-- they had to work with. I was reminded of their hard work this past weekend when I took my kids to thier house for supper. what a riot! Emma was crying and crying and crying, (and I wasn't to chipper either! It made me wonder how my parents did it! I am thankful for them.

3. My Brother. even though he's a flames fan, I still love him.

4. My Wife. I don't really need to say more, becasue she's my better half, or as Pastor Karl Ingersoll says about his wife, "she's my better 3/4". True!

5. My kids. even though they may irk me form time to time, I love them. Like when Emma goes to school and comes home and gives me a big hug that could make the worst days feel like they are the best days. Or when Erica goes to bed and I give her a kiss she always says "Lick Kiss?". I am glad that they have thier mother in them!

I could go on and on becasue I have much to be thankful for, the Bible says: Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever" (Psalm 136:1)

I am thankful.

Are you thankful for something-- or someone. Let them know right now!

Idea

I was talking to my brother the other day, and he said to me 'you need to update your blog' I said to him, “oh yeah, to say what?” “I don't know” he said, “I just like reading it!” Cool! I have at least 1 reader!

I've been thinking off and on about what to say, and while I have no direct ‘revelation’, I do have an idea;

I'm in the God business. Each week I write a sermon for the good folks who come to our church. I love to do this, hard, tiring, yet very rewarding process.

When I’m not writing a sermon, I’m doing my best to represent God in my every day life. Eph 5:1&2 Says: “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (NIV)

I’m trying my hardest to represent God to this world. I'm trying my hardest to live for Jesus, who was, God in the flesh.

Now, I’m human and I stumble and fall from time to time, and don't always do what I’m supposed to do, (when this happens, I confess it and trust that God’s grace will cover me) but because I'm in the God business, I want to live a life that pleases Him.

Romans 12:1, in the Message, which is a paraphrase of the Bible says: “…here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering…”

I’ve given God my ordinary life and He’s done some extra ordinary things with it. It makes me want to ask….won't you join in the God business, too?

Obey

I have been, for the last several years, seeking to read thru the Bible.
This was started back in 2006 when The Wesleyan Church declared 2006 to be the Year of the Bible. And TWC even made available copies of a bible specifically designed to read the Bible in an entire year.
That was an excellent way to read the bible, but I sometimes found that it was too much information coming at me all at once. I was, sometimes, on “information overload”.
So after the year was over, I went out and purchased a new bible with the specific intention of reading thru the bible at my own pace.
The first year, I read through the New Testament (NT), and now I am making my way through the Old Testament (OT).
I am absolutely amazed at the wealth of knowledge found in the OT, that sometimes get’s overlooked.
Take for example, the call of Jeremiah, as found in Jeremiah 1:4-8 “The Lord gave me this message: 5 “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.
Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
6 “O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”
7 The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. 8 And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (NLT2)
Verse 5 is an excellent reminder of God being in complete control and how He knows us better than we know ourselves.
But the what really stood out to me from this passage was verses 6-8. After God told Jeremiah that He knew all about him, Jeremiah said: ““O Sovereign Lord,” …“I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”
7 The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. 8 And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (NLT2)
Jeremiah was afraid that his age would be a problem & God told Jeremiah that it was not a problem and what Jeremiah was to do was say what God wanted him to say and go where God wanted him to go.
This my friends, is the call to obedience. What God wants from all of His children—regardless of their age—is to walk in obedience with Him.
Jesus said “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:14, NIV) and “…If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching….” (John 14:23, NIV)
John, a follower of Jesus, wrote “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome…” (1 John 5:3, NIV)
At the end of the day, God wants each one of us to ask ourselves “have we obeyed Him?”

Life Lessons

My daughter, Erica, does something that drives me up the wall. Those of you that have had two (or more) kids may understand what I am about to say.
Before Erica will do anything, she will look and see what her sister is doing. Take a recent trip to my garage for example:
I was putting their bikes in the back of the van, and Emma wanted her bike helmet, and as soon as Erica came out into the garage, she said “I want my helmet”
I told her “the only reason that you want your helmet is because your sister has her helmet”. Of course she responded “yes”.
This happens all of the time. If Emma has a piece of cheese for lunch, Erica will have to have a piece of cheese for lunch….
This,I have to tell, you drives me crazy. I want my kids to have their own personality, and they will, eventually, but why can’t Erica do her own thing????
You know friends; my two year old daughter is smarter than she realizes. What Erica is doing is what each disciple of Jesus is supposed to do.
Before we do anything, we are to look at our Heavenly Father and ask Him:
“Is this what You would do?”
The Bible reminds us in Ephesians 5:1&2 that we are to “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (NIV)
Before we do anything at all, we should be looking at our heavenly father and doing things He would do.
1 John 2:6 reminds us that “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” (NIV)
Before we as disciples of Jesus Christ do anything at all, we must ask ourselves and of the Lord: “will this represent the Lord?”
And unlike Erica’s father’s reaction, when we imitate God, when we follow Jesus, we will bring Him great pleasure, because we will be doing what He has asked us to do.
It’s amazing what kids can teach a person about God, isn’t it?

Church

I love the Church. (Not just the one that I Pastor: see photo below) but the Church of Jesus Christ. I love working in the church, I love being in the church. I am devoting my life to the church. I am betting the farm on Jesus Christ and what He said.

I love coming to church on Sunday Mornings. I have been here at this church for 7 years, and I have, that I can remember, only dreaded coming once. I love the church and I love the God experience that I beleive happens in the church on Sunday morning.

I beleive that God wants followers of Jesus Christ to be in church-- His Church-- on a Sunday morning, because God meets with His people in the church. (See There's no I in Church by Keith Drury) On a Sunday morning, in Church, I meet with God.

Sure I've met with God in my office more times than not, but when I come together with other disciples of Christ, something happens... I think God shows up at church, and when that happens, I love the church all the more.

I know where I'll be on a Sunday morning... how about you?

hello

well, here I am, I've joined the online craze, and started a blog.

i've thought about getting one up and going for a few weeks, not sure why, but anyway here it is.

i'm not sure what will be on it..something or nothing..... but always remember: "you get what you pay for"