Happy New Year!

So here we are at December 31^st…the last day of 2011…actually the last hours of the year. Right now I will confess that I am sick and tired of being sick…the last two days have been a barrage of sinus headaches for me. While I hate snow and ice, I do wish it would turn off cold enough to kill the germs around here (yeah, I will regret ever thinking that in a couple of weeks!). Having said all that, it is New Year’s Eve and one’s attention naturally turns to those time-honored New Year resolutions. My resolution for 2012 is to have more God. I must confess that the past year or so has been rather hectic for me. I have found myself too busy with Church related activities. Now, these are good and necessary things, but one of the biggest lies of satan is that we cannot do too much to further the Kingdom. Fact is, when we become so busy that we are forced to abbreviate or abandon our time alone with God we have actually begun to hinder the Kingdom. Dag Hammarskjold, Swedish economist, diplomat, and author, penned this prayer. “Give me a pure heart—that I may see Thee, a humble heart—that I may hear Thee, a heart of love—that I may serve Thee, a heart of faith—that I may abide in Thee.” His prayer has become mine for 2012…I also pray you would consider joining me on this journey. More God is something we all need and should strive for.

Where's Your Help?

Nothing like vacation…I am so worn out from this day it will likely take the rest of the week to recover! Regardless, let me share with you a devotion I read today from Ron Newhouse, as posted on devotions.net.

     In 1854 a cavalry officer named J.E.B. Stuart graduated from West Point and was sent to his first assignment in Texas. He boarded a steamboat in New Orleans and immediately found himself in the middle of a storm on the Gulf of Mexico. Stuart was violently seasick and lay helplessly in a bunk while the ship pitched and rolled.

     When Stuart finally managed to raise his head from his bunk, he discovered that the boat was docked and had been for some time at Galveston, Texas. While Stuart thought he was about to die from his seasickness, he could have walked a few feet to land at any time during the previous 12 hours. That, likewise, is how close God's help is, whether we take advantage of it or not!

What I found particularly interesting about this devotion was not that it was about the renowned confederate general, but that it is about us! Too many of us (believers), when we find ourselves in the midst of a storm are too sick or frightened to seek the help of our Advocate…who patiently waits for us to call out to Him.

New Year's Covenant

I pray you had a wonderful, Christ-centered Christmas…but now that it’s the 26^th our attention turns to the New Year, and the inevitable resolutions that follow. Don’t misunderstand me, I have nothing against New Year resolutions, but I also would have to admit I have had limited success with them (that is much nicer than saying utter failure isn’t it?). However, if you are serious about making that resolution, let me offer an alternative that has worked well for me. Instead of a resolution, try this…make a covenant with God. Whatever the need, include God in the equation by starting with fervent prayer on both the need and means to reach it and then enter into a covenant with God (and perhaps others) as a way to reach your goal. I have found that first, when I bring my need or desire to God, He will help me make the goal realistic and achievable. Secondly, by enlisting the help of the Almighty, I am empowered with the strength, mindset, and vision to reach the goal I have set. This is not a guarantee from God and it still takes work to reach your goal, but you might give it a try…the results might be life changing!

Merry Christmas!

The Holiday is not Happy Without Jesus!

Does anyone else find it ironic that much of the world celebrates the birth of a man whose very existence they deny? That in itself should cause us to reject the wisdom they offer…not question it, but reject it. In our world of many shades of grey, there are some things that are simply black and white. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” That statement, my friends, is black and white. So if I believe Jesus’ words, why would I accept financial advice from someone who denies that Jesus is Lord? How wise am I to take legal counsel from someone who doesn’t even know the King of kings? And should I be in a business venture…or do business with someone who is more concerned with being politically correct than being in a personal relationship with Jesus? God has given us another gift at Christmas time…it’s the ability to spot those who truly celebrate His birth, and those who would rather not. So be bold and generous with your Merry Christmases and pay attention to the response they bring!

Stop the Maddness!

Well, I’ve changed my mind…and just since my last posting! I am now of a mind we (believers) should not celebrate Christmas…AT ALL! Now before you respond with less than kind words, let me offer my reasoning. I am getting tired of the non-believers whining that to have a religious display on public property violates their rights. Am I missing something…I have never felt violated by the sight of a menorah! I am also getting tired of people spouting that these religious images are unlawful on public property because of the separation of Church and State clause…presumably in the Constitution. The phrase came from letters Thomas Jefferson penned; it is not from the Declaration of Independence or from the Preamble to the Constitution, or from the Constitution itself. My prayer is that God would at least help them get their facts straight! I now think if all Christians stopped celebrating Christmas TOTALLY, within two months they would beg us to celebrate and offer to put nativity scenes anywhere/everywhere we wanted. Think of the revenue lost to merchants during Christmas if we stopped celebrating. Think of the tax revenue lost to cities, counties, and state governments just from the loss of sales taxes on the items we did not purchase…not to mention the taxes generated from travel. If we (believers) would only stand together Christ could again be the focus of Christmas…but then if we could stand together there might not be thousands of Christian denominations around the world would there? Well, until that day, Happy Holidays MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Come, Lord Jesus!

Here I sit still recovering from a Christmas overdose from this past week. We had the children’s program at church on the 11^th, the Lancaster Christian School students had their program last Thursday, and then on Friday & Saturday I worked at the Live Nativity here at Beulah where over 1200 people visited. Now, each of these programs was a good thing…uplifting and Christ centered, but too much of a good thing is still too much! I have enjoyed the day reflecting on these events and contemplating on the real Christmas and I’ve come to the conclusion, for the most part, we have missed the point. In the narrative from Matthew and Luke, the time, the place, the people…they all hold significance in the story. None of the people were involved by accident and nothing happened by coincidence...Christ’s birth was a historical life-changing event planned by God for all of humanity. But unfortunately we have relegated it to a one-day politically correct event for the religious and sometime religious. Don’t get me wrong, we should celebrate Jesus’ birth…our feeble attempts (cramed into a week or two) are better than nothing…but I pray we will do better with His second coming!

Christmas Light Show

It's getting closeer to Christmas so over the weekend we drove around looking at lights, but I saw none quite like this! I actually enjoyed this video...a new twist on Christmas lights with the song Amazing Grace...if I weren't so cheap, I would do this... (Jill says, Yeah, right!)

A Gift from God!

On a day when I've grown weary from folks complaining about Albert Pujols, God sent me this! I do not know who Dave Barry is (or which Dave Barry penned this), or what he promotes…but this was posted by a friend of mine and I loved it…oozes with truth doesn’t it?

‎"...Caring about sports is, let's face it, silly. I mean, suppose you have a friend who, for no apparent reason, suddenly becomes obsessed with the Amtrak Corporation. He babbles about Amtrak constantly, citing obscure railroad statistics from 1978; he puts Amtrak bumper stickers on his car; and when something bad happens to Amtrak, such as a train crashes and investigators find that the engineer was drinking and wearing a bunny suit, your friend becomes depressed for weeks. You'd think he was crazy, right? 'Bob,' you'd say to him, as a caring and loving friend, 'you're a moron. The Amtrak Corporation has nothing to do with you.'

But if Bob is behaving exactly the same deranged way about, say, the Pittsburgh Penguins, it's considered normal guy behavior. He could name his child 'Pittsburgh Penguin Johnson' and be considered only mildly eccentric." - Dave Barry

I would add…and if Bob is passionate about Jesus, many people will roll their eyes at him, call him a fanatic, and avoid him like the plague...while they search for a sport to invest themselves in, or complain about! It is apparent many in our society are searching for something, anything to make them feel good…something to fill the void in their lives. All the while, hearing truth, they turn from Jesus…but that’s okay, it’s job security for me!

God Help Us!

I’ve held my tongue on the recent controversy caused by the Gulnare Freewill Baptist Church in Pike County, Kentucky, when they voted not to accept interracial couples as members or allow them to participate in most worship services (funerals being the exception). I should say that the denomination has criticized the local church’s decision and by now they have to some degree reversed the action, however what’s done is done. While it saddens me, I must say I am not really surprised to see that racism has once again reared its ugly head in both America and in (at least some) American churches. Unfortunately, I think this embarrasment gives many people a sour taste of all churches. And as bad as this decision and the ongoing publicity has been for the church, I just read of an even greater problem in this particular congregation. This church’s administrative board decided the entire church should vote on the matter, so at a meeting of the entire church membership, the vote was nine for and six against the proposal. However, in attendance at this meeting were nearly forty members…that means upwards of twenty-five members lacked the fortitude to vote at all! Now, I wasn’t there…I don’t know the debate (if any) that took place…I don’t know if tempers flared…I don’t know what politics were at work. But I do know that by not voting, these twenty-five did indeed vote. They voted to allow a minority to hijack their church and make a mockery of all churches in America. Jesus was right…the world can tell who His disciples are (John 13:35)…and are not!

It's Time to Prepare for Battle

Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Implied in this text is we are indeed struggling with spiritual battles…if you are not aware of this you are likely not winning any of yours. I would also add that Paul does not call us to be victorious in these battles (remember Christ is the victor), but we are to stand our ground. Unfortunately, history and society shows us that the Church has not done a very good job of standing firm…well it looks like you may have another chance soon. Tonight at the Sumner City Council meeting it was announced that a petition was being prepared to have the voters decide on allowing the retail sale of alcohol within the city limits of Sumner, even though the last vote was defeated about two years ago (if my memory serves me correctly). I have no problem with voting, that is our process of enacting and changing laws. However, I do fear that complacency has caused the Church to become lethargic and indifferent, unconcerned with affairs outside its doors. Here’s my prophetic word…the followers of Jesus Christ living in Sumner should prepare to do battle: it is coming. And make no mistake about it; we are battling against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. But take heart, we have been given the weapons to do battle with, we’ve even been guaranteed the victory…but WE must engage the enemy...not hide and pray it goes away!

Affirmation from Heaven!

I know of nothing quite like an affirmation from God. One of the smartest things I have ever decided to do is to seek counsel from godly men when I struggle with making a decision. I have found it always wise to ask others, not only for their opinion, but also to ask them to pray for God to give them a word to see if it matches the word I feel I have received from the Lord. This past week I have struggled with such a decision. It was one of those dilemmas whose resolution was not obvious, at least not to me…and any number of choices could have worked out. However, like so many problems, one response generally works best. So today I received affirmation on a decision I had made from a godly man I respect greatly…and while I was trying to determine which choice was best and quite honestly could have accepted one of many choices, I felt one option in particular was what God wanted me to do. To have this affirmed by another was actually an affirmation from God…what a wonderful gift! Praise His holy name God puts others in our paths to encourage, instruct, hold accountable and affirm.

Blessings and an Award!

What a delightful day today was…and quite a contrast from my last blog! Started out with a men’s prayer meeting, which as usual, pumped me up. Then we went to Mount Carmel for the Christmas parade. Not to watch the parade, but I had the pleasure of pulling the Lancaster Christian School’s float…and I don’t want to brag, but it did get the “Best of Parade” award…not sure, but that sounds like a first place! It was a great day, not because we won an award (that was just icing on our cake), but because I was in fellowship with likeminded Christian people simply wanting to lift high the name of Jesus! I would confess I was shocked we received an award…the theme was “I Believe.” I saw several floats and vehicles with the theme printed on them, but we did not. A few of us recycled Beulah’s float from this fall in hopes of making good use of our hard work this summer. We changed one sign, quoting Luke 2, and surrounded the float with shepherds, angels, wise guys, and of course Mary, Joseph and a baby, and wahlah…an award! Goes to prove once again what I have experienced over and over…lift high the name of Jesus and he will bless you.