Thankful For...

The last few days have been rather hectic for me. McKayla has been sick with an ear infection and bronchitis, Anna has be coughing nearly non-stop, Jill has had several tests done this past week with a biopsy on her thyroid yesterday, and I had a meeting in Springfield today that took up the majority of my day (thus my erratic postings). I do not share this to solicit your pity, although your prayers would be greatly appreciated. I share it because we are just 10 days or so away from Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, most of us (including myself) tend to take our blessings for granted and at times even miss, or dismiss, them altogether. It is only when we face struggles and inconveniences that we recognize our blessing and claim them as such. So here we are nearing Thanksgiving; a uniquely American holiday that is about being thankful…so what are you thankful for this year? Forget the superficial things like a home, a job, or food…I know all of these are important, but let’s think for a moment. What are you truly thankful for? Your spouse; your children? How about for trials and temptations? James tells us they help us mature in the faith. How about your witness and someone to share it with? Jesus commanded us to share it. How about for an opportunity to be persecuted for your faith? There are believers in our world today who are being persecuted for professing Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior…physically persecuted. I know that’s thinking outside the box, to be thankful for persecution, but isn’t that how God operates? After all, while we were still sinners he sent his only Son to become a sacrifice for our sins. You cannot get any further outside the box than that! So think about it…what are you thankful for?

Success

I received this email from a friend and found it insightful...thought others might need to hear it as we prepare for God to move.

Joshua 1:8 "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night… For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."

I had always wondered why the Torah (the first five books of Moses) is read out loud by the Jews. Then, a Jewish Christian told me that for generations, they read God’s Word out loud because of Joshua 1:8 — “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night…” The word “meditate” in English means to ponder. But in Hebrew, it is the word hagah, which means to utter or mutter under your breath. In other words, when you meditate on God’s Word, you speak forth or confess His Word instead of just giving it mental assent.
My friend, hagah God’s Word by confessing verses in the areas that you are believing God for breakthroughs. When I was working in sales, I confessed verses like, “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty…” (Proverbs 3:9–10) In the first year, I became the top salesman in my company! My way was made prosperous and I enjoyed good success.
“Pastor, I am waiting for God to make my way prosperous.” No, the Bible says that you will make your way prosperous when you hagah God’s Word. So speak forth verses in the areas which you want to see breakthroughs and you will have good success.
Some people have success that destroys them — you don’t see them in church anymore and their family members don’t get to see them either. That is bad success. But when you hagah God’s Word, you will have good success that does not destroy you.
Now, confessing God’s Word does not move God to do things for you. It is not a formula. God had already moved when He gave up Jesus to die for you. However, when you confess His Word, it moves you from a position of doubt to faith. It moves your heart from a position of “Is it true?” to “I believe it!” When that happens, “you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success”!

Thanks to the Veterans

So today is Veteran’s Day. A day we honor and remember those who have served our country since its inception. But how does one say thank you to someone who gave several years of their life in service? And how can one properly express thanks to a family whose loved one gave the ultimate sacrifice? We can and do pay honor at church services, though all of our good intentions are horribly inadequate. And we hold community programs and hear from great Americans, still our attention drifts. This morning, on a network radio program, it was reported that there are only 116 veterans of WWI left with us today. I was saddened when I heard the report, not because those veterans are growing older and nearing the end of this journey we call life; they are facing an inevitable moment we will all face. My heart sank because we continue to add to the number of veterans daily. Hear me clearly, I am a patriot, I am proud to be an American, but I also fear we have grieved too many children and parents with the death of their loved ones for no reason. If our freedoms are in danger, then we ought to fight with all we have within us. But to endanger the lives of our soldiers by engaging in conflicts we don’t have the cause or will to win is sinful. This country is great because we have stood and fought for liberties and virtues that we believe in; not because we wanted to save face, control wealth, or to flex our military muscle in the global community. My prayer is that God will continue to bless the USA with men and women who are willing to step forward when our liberties are threatened.

Formula for Revival

As we prepare for revival services here at Sesser in a week or so, I must ask, what is it you’re expecting God to do? Have you expressed your expectation to God? What is it you want…is it God’s will or your dreams? Is it for everyone else to be renewed, or can you admit your soul has been in a dry place too? There are two things that are common to most revivals throughout history and it seems reasonable to look for these if we are to experience a visitation. First, genuine revival is preceded by an intensive desire among laity to seek God’s presence thru prayer. Great revivals were not initiated by clergy, though many clergy certainly would like to take credit. That is not to say God did not use clergy, he certainly did, however most were initiated by lay people. Secondly, people found they were the ones in need of revival. People did not bring friends and neighbors to the services hoping others would be saved. Instead, people came seeking God’s hand to move in their own lives. Once that happened, friends and neighbors came to the services to “see what was going on” and in turn the Spirit touched even more people. Think we need revival? It will never happen until we realize and admit WE are the ones in need of renewal, and until WE fervently seek God’s face and his will for our lives. If we would accomplish that, I have no doubts God would turn our church and our community upside-down. Until then we are Wesley’s greatest nightmare: “a church with the form of religion, but lacking the power.”

Yes, God Is On The Throne!

I have this morning received emails from four different people that essentially say the same thing: God is still on the throne regardless of who wins the election. Duh! I think they may be seeking reassurances and I am not sure if they are trying to convince themselves…or perhaps me. Regardless, the election is over, praise God! My strongly held conviction is that 20 months is too long to campaign for any office. I also struggle with the fact that two parties monopolize the elections…obviously neither Obama or McCain was my first choice. Still, it was a historic election. Our country should be proud of how far we have come in the last 40+ years: from the end of segregation to the first bi-racial president. Now, as we face a couple months of transition to the new administration, we need to be praying…praying for the Bush Whitehouse, for the Obama Whitehouse, praying for all of our elected officials; for wisdom and fortitude. We have a long road ahead of us with issues like the war, the economy, and immigration, just to name a few. And why do we pray? Because God IS still on the throne and he hears our prayers. Nothing as simplistic as an election can even distract our God and we can rest assured of his presence regardless of the difficulties that lie before us. Along with whatever emails you might get offering reassurances, let me offer David’s words from Psalm 4:8, “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

The True Value

I was working last night on some pictures for the website from Trunk or Treat. As I remembered the fun that was had, I realized the true value in hosting such an event. It’s not the candy; even though Mars, Inc., Hersey Foods, Tootsie Roll Industries, and many other candy manufactures would argue. It’s not the exposure that many kids had that night to our church. That is a valuable thing to offer in a day when so many kids pass by our buildings repeatedly and don’t even notice them. And it’s not even being a “safe” place for kids to trick or treat, though that is becoming increasingly important. The true value of Trunk or Treat for me was having my kids, Hannah, Anna and Isabella, serve other kids. Yeah, it was fun and we did get candy to share, but they were serving. They don’t even know it, but they were serving others. They saw me and other adults they respect and love model service for them, and they learned from that. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train a child in the way (s)he should go, and when (s)he is old (s)he will not turn from it.” Thanks to all who participated in Trunk or Treat…perhaps unknowingly you helped educate many of the youngsters in our church and community about service and generosity.

Where's Your Focus?

Today I had a day of fasting and prayer for our country, its citizenry, and the election tomorrow, along with several other requests. At one point, I turned on the news and it happened that a story was running about people who were literally obsessed with the election. They were frightened of the outcome and took every opportunity to get the latest news on both campaigns. Yesterday I spoke with Annett, the German exchange student we hosted last year. She is back home in Germany and according to her; all of Europe is holding their breath as they await the outcome of the election. I realize that all the interest is a good thing; much better than apathy. However, it seems as if some are focusing on the wrong things. Regardless of who is elected, God will still sit on the throne. Regardless of who is elected, there will be trials ahead. Regardless of who is elected, believers are still called to be witnesses of Jesus Christ. And regardless of who is elected, we continue to be saved by grace through faith. It’s too bad we don’t generate the same amount of interest when we worship or speak of the Almighty. It’s also too bad the one billion dollars spent the last 22 months campaigning wasn’t used to feed the hungry or house the homeless. That would likely have impacted our country more positively than any candidate could for the next four years.