God is Good; All the Time!

God just keeps blessing! We just had a great Lay Witness Mission last weekend and after a fruitful but exhausting few days you might think it couldn’t get any better…but it did! On Sunday afternoon I and about sixteen others from the church attended the consecration service for the spring ’09 Lay Speaker’s Class. One of those students was our own Chuck Wright. This man is a blessing to know and for me to call my friend, and I have no doubts that God intends to use Chuck in powerful ways in the years to come. Then today God blessed us again…this morning Elyssa Louise Schoenbaechler was born. Mom Kathy works with our children and youth and is a big sister to my daughter Hannah. I can report that as of mid-day mom, dad, and Elyssa were all doing fine. Even Eli, grandma, and grandpa looked mighty proud! It is my prayer that this new life be consecrated to the glory of God and that there might be no sleepless nights in the Schoenbaechler home...now I wonder how God will bless us next?

Rethink Church!

We United Methodist have launched a new campaign called “Rethink Church.” This is certainly something we ought to do often, if not daily, though to be honest, we do not. Fact is some of us have not re-thought church for many, many years. The campaign asks us, “What if Church was a verb?” I like that question! I like it not because it's catchy, but because it’s biblical. Jesus commanded us to “go” (Matthew 29:19); Mark records that the disciples “went out” (16:20); Jesus said, “I am sending you” (Luke 24:49); and even suggested that we “follow him” (John 21:22). Then he boldly told us that “you will be my witnesses” in Acts 1:8. Seems to me the Church is to be just like a verb…an action word (or action people in this instance). God never intended that we hide behind the walls of a building, but rather that we would invade the world in which we live just like the light permeates darkness! Now, I do not know how successful this campaign will be, only time will tell, however I do know they are on target. We need to rethink the way we do and the way we are the Church, and if we did, we would surely get out of our pews and get moving!

Bound & Listening!

As we prepare during the final hours before our Lay Witness Mission begins, I am asking the church to intensify our prayer efforts. While there are many requests I could lift up…and many already have been lifted...I would ask the body to focus its efforts on two specific requests. First, pray that Satan would be bound for this weekend. Revelation 20:2 says, “He (an angel) seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years…” (NRSV). I believe we have experienced distractions and setbacks in our LWM due to Satan’s unchecked activity. Let’s pray that he would be bound for these three days, allowing the Spirit to work freely among us. Secondly, I know we have prayed for many others, but let’s pray that this weekend would impact each of US. That WE might experience a touch from above in whatever form the Spirit sees fit. In Jeremiah 33:3 God says, “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” (NRSV). Let's not get caught up in the busyness of the weekend failing to call out to God ourselves, lest we miss what God wants to say to us.

I Am Free!

Today I met someone who is truly shackled and burdened. I won’t go into the details, but this soul is distraught with no hope. It is sad to see someone like that…not because of their state (though it is sad), but because they need not be a prisoner. Jesus Christ came to set us free and he accomplished that task if we would only accept and believe that freedom is ours. I shared with them for a time, with no success, and when I left them, I would confess I was a bit down. Then, as if God winked at me, on the radio came a song by the Newsboys, I Am Free. I wanted to go back and sing it for them! However realizing that might just drive them to dispair, I did not. I will though print the lyrics here, perhaps you need to hear it too:

Through you the blind will see; Through you the mute will sing; Through you the dead will rise; Through you all hearts will praise; Through you the darkness flees; Through you my heart screams "I am free!"
I am free to run; I am free to dance; I am free to live for you; I am free!

Through you the kingdom comes; Through you the battle's won; Through you the price is paid; Through you I'm not afraid; Through you there's victory; Because of you my soul sings "I am free!"

It is true; with Jesus Christ we are free.

We Reap What We Sow!

Sometimes the truth just hurts…that’s all there is to it. I received this video in an email a day or two ago and it is painstakingly honest. The biggest point it makes to me is that it is better to own up to past mistakes and realize there are consequences to our actions. We can never repair the damage until we come to grips with the problems. Oh, and as you view it, know that O’Hare, Spock, and others mentioned in the video are not the ones who made the mistakes…we did by allowing their views to permeate our minds and now we reap what we've sown. View this video by clicking on the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMiSfopfNvY

The Power Within!

The last few weeks I have been reading the works of Smith Wigglesworth (1859-1947). I was introduced to Smith by Richard Rhodes. Wigglesworth was truly an amazing man. Smith was known as the “Apostle of Faith” because absolute trust in God was a theme of his life and messages. Something else I found unique about Smith was that he lived his life angry toward Satan. He believed Satan should never be allowed to get away with anything. That is a holy boldness that we need to adopt! I fear that too often we very nearly hand loved ones and other souls over to Satan and then we run and hide from the adversary. I have said it before; Satan has no power over us…absolutely none! 1 John 4:4 tells us, “…greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.” Satan’s grip on us is that he is the father of lies (John 8:44), and unfortunately we are easily fooled. We need to (re)claim the power of the Holy Spirit residing in these earthen vessels called believers and use it to do battle against the adversary. If we do anything less, we are giving Satan free reign to roam this earth...and as Wigglesworth would attest, we have the power to stop him.

The Real Treasure Quest!

I don’t watch much television, but I have started watching a program on the Discovery Channel (of course!) which is about hunting treasure underwater. The name of the program is Treasure Quest, and the ship used for the treasure hunting is the Odyssey. The program documents some of the greatest treasure finds in history and some of the greatest junk piles on the sea floor. It strikes me that soul winning is much like treasure hunting. There are times when the Odyssey will spend many, many hours mapping and prepping a shipwreck site only to find absolutely nothing of value. There are other times when they will accidently stumble upon surprises they never dreamed of. However, most of the treasures are recovered after much research and work have been invested in the project. Likewise, we usually see souls won to Christ after we (or someone) have done our work…occasionally we stumble upon someone who is ripe for the harvest, and God has allowed us to be at the right place at the right time. And occasionally, we invest time and resources in people and our efforts never bear fruit…at least not to our knowledge. So, as we move toward our Lay Witness Mission weekend, how are your treasure hunting skills?

Prayer

My soul is being stirred by the approaching Lay Witness Mission and what God wants to do with folks here at Sesser. I have intensified my prayer efforts and as we near the beginning of the Mission, I would encourage each of you to begin focusing your prayer time on how God might touch US during the event. I’ve heard prayer described as many different things, but I prefer to call it exactly what it is: communication. It is how we communicate with God and often times it is how (or at least when) God communicates with us. Prayer is the conversation, whether in pain or with joy, that enables us to cry out to God. It is the all-too-short time when we remove ourselves from the noise and distractions of the world around us and we listen, truly listen to God. It is during prayer that God might verbally speak to, impress upon, or convict our hearts of his will…he does this at times with a thundering shout and at other times with a still small voice. But regardless of the method, the time, or the message, prayer is our ongoing dialogue with the Almighty. What’s he trying to tell you today?

Real Ministry Is...

I think I’ve said this before…or something like it…but today was a great day for me. Today we held the food distribution at the SV Lifeline. It’s not that I particularly enjoy the work, though I do, or the fellowship with others Christians, I enjoy that too, or the misfortune of others. It’s the one on one ministry I cherish. To be able to look into someone’s eyes, listen to their story, and in some small way meet their needs. I really think that was what Jesus was all about as he roamed this earth…I also think that is being Jesus to others: to look into their eyes, listen to their story, and meet their needs. It seems to me repeatedly in Scripture that is what Jesus did…in fact that is all that he did...nothing more, nothing less. Real ministry is not about the preaching, the study, the meetings (never the meetings!), the public prayers, or even the fellowship, although I would say all of these are important…it’s about meeting people's needs. And in order to meet needs we must take the time to look into their eyes and listen to their stories. If we don’t, we are doing nothing more than playing church.

Cyclical Sinfulness

As we continue to read thru the Old Testament, a rather predictable cycle has emerged. We will see a king who serves and worships God followed by a king who “does evil in the sight of the Lord.” And, you may have guessed, as the king goes, so goes the nation. Repeatedly we’ve seen this pattern emerge beginning with the reign of Saul and running thru the exile (which is where our daily readings currently are). The comments at Bible study have ranged from, “Didn’t they see this coming?” to “That looks a lot like our country!” I want to approach the text from a different angle…let’s get personal. Might this cyclical sinfulness be a snapshot of many people’s lives? Don’t we, as individuals, run hot and cold? Many people will experience a season of devout faithfulness often followed by a season of complacency and then apathy? Some people, for any number of reasons, will pull completely away from God and a few will never return! I want to ask, “Didn’t someone see this coming?” Just as your entire body responds when you stub your toe, the entire Body of Christ should respond when one member struggles. Seems it’s easy to condemn ancient Israel for their actions, but we might be the pot calling the kettle black!

Come, Holy Spirit!

We have experienced a series of mountain top events lately. Different groups of people at different venues have each experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit in a most powerful way. That can be confirmed, because now the enemy is at work trying to derail not only those blessings, but any blessings we might receive in the near future. There are folks in our congregation who are suffering from a multitude of darts and arrows and they are hurting. There are also those within our congregation who have become divisive. All of this I attribute to satan. We have ahead of us, in just a couple of weeks, our Lay Witness Mission…this is a tremendous opportunity for our entire congregation to experience again the power of the Holy Spirit working in and thru the lives of lay people who will come to us from Tennessee, Indiana, Missouri, and Illinois. I pray that we might be found open to the Spirit of the Living God, not that we might see what God is doing elsewhere, but that we might become channels of his grace to one another and to those outside the walls of our church. As we wait for the LWM to begin, may we all keep our eyes focused on the Lord while our prayers continually rise to his throne.

I'm Baaaack!

I apologize for my silence this week, I guess I should have warned you I do not do well at journaling. This has been a week of mixed feelings for me. On Wednesday my family observed the death of our oldest daughter, Emily. It was three years ago that she entered into eternal rest and it still seems like yesterday. That same day I was asked to conduct a funeral for a family of the church. I didn’t think anything of it, but I should have. Later in the afternoon, after the service, the memories came flooding back and completely immersed me in grief. There are memories of a child lost to death that not only will never go away, but it seems to me the wound never heals…and I am not sure that I want it to. To contrast that, my family is celebrating the acceptance of our 17 year old daughter into college…now that she has been accepted into three different schools; she needs to make some decisions on which college to attend! Today I am also leaving with others from the church to attend the “Forged in the Fire” conferences. I am looking forward to a Spirit-filled time. Please, keep us all in your prayers.