You know what happens when you get to the end of your road

God shows up and changes everything. By the end of the road I am speaking of a task or start-up you have been faithfully working at for some time with some success but nothing to brag about. You know it’s going but just so. Maybe you feel the passion of the project slipping or it just seems no one is interested or interested enough to make plans to participate. It is frustrating.

 

I think at times we see those feeling in Jesus especially with respect to his disciples. He pours into them and into them and into them and they keep leaving the drain open. So, all that is poured in seems to run out. It is never there when they need it. In the book of Mark chapter 6 his “boys” have been sent out in pairs healing and casting out demons. They were very successful with their task. They were sent simply on Jesus authority with no supplies at the Master’s command. It works out. In verse 30 of chapter 6 they report all they had done and taught. It was a great experience. There was this crowd.

 

The crowd of 5000 men plus their wives’ and children had gathered to hear Jesus teach and be healed. The time was good but the hour had grown late. The disciples tell Jesus he must get done as these people need to get something to eat and where they are there is nothing. (No Logan’s Road House yet it was under construction oh that’s in Pooler sorry.) So, Jesus says to them, “you give them something to eat.” (v. 37).  Did he not hear them? There are no resources and his disciples remind him of their lack of funds for the task. They were frustrated. They saw the need and their supplies and the two did not equal each other. Jesus must have been frustrated because earlier in the chapter he had sent them out with nothing but his name and that had been all they needed. This situation was no different. They still had nothing but Jesus. Think about that “nothing but Jesus.”

 

Yep you guessed it God showed up and asked, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see!” Their answer was five loaves and two fish. Not enough for one of them to eat well much less 5000 men and their families. But God showed up and changed everything. The rest of the story is he gave thanks and broke the loaves. When all was said “they all ate and were satisfied” the disciples picked up twelve baskets full of broken pieces of fish and bread.

 

Later Jesus tells the disciples to go across the lake and he will follow. It is night and these experienced fishermen are straining against the oars because of a wind against them. It must have been a “dark and stormy night” so Snoopy would say about Halloween time (I just thought I would throw that in there :p) not really. They must have been concerned and on edge. It wasn’t going so well. Not like they planned at least and they could do nothing about it. Like those times you seem to be beating your head against the wall and getting nothing but a headache. Jesus saw their struggle and is headed to them. God is going to show up and change everything. This is the Halloween part, they see Jesus walking on the lake and thought he was a ghost. They cried out and were terrified (v.49-50). Immediately he spoke to them, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” He got in the boat and the wind died down and they were completely amazed. God showed up and changed everything.

 

That is what He does. Jesus shows up and everything changes. That happened to me recently. I had become frustrated with this thing I was involved in, frustrated enough to about decide to quit. In my eyes it wasn’t working and was making no difference and Jesus shows up unexpectedly, my small faith, and changes everything. I was able to see he had been at work all along. I was just unaware of what he was doing. My end of the road was not an end at all but rather a new leg of the trip.

 

When God shows up He changes everything. What more do you need?               

 

In HIS Service and Yours,

The Rev

Politics brings out the passion...

These days more so than religion. The second of the three presidential debates was filled with passion and tension. It is funny to me how we want our leaders to be passionate but don’t want the consequences of passion to be on display. Passion elicits action and action can bring conflict, but we don’t want that, no conflict but lots of passion. Passion without action produces a fan. Who wants to be a fan? It’s O.K. to put your hand down now.


Recently two of our ladies have been engaged in a book titled Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus by Kyle Idleman pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY. The book focuses on the differences between followers and fans. In a nutshell a fan knows a lot about their “star” but does not know the star. There is no personal connection and relationship between the fan and their star. A follower on the other hand may know a lot of information but most importantly knows the “star” and conforms’ their life to that of their star. It is the idea found in Jesus’ teaching of dying to self to be transformed to His image. Let me put it another way from another writer.

 I am reading Love Does by Bob Goff. At least in my mind he relays the same concept of fan and follower in different terms stalker and doer. He has the ability to store and recall facts and figures easily. Bob Goff IS a lawyer. He found that he went to a lot of Bible studies where he learned a lot of facts and figures about Jesus and the Bible. He knew a lot about Jesus and the Christian life but all of his knowledge had failed to change his life. He realized he was a Jesus stalker. He knew a lot about Jesus but did not really know him, like a “fan” of Pastor Idleman. SO, Bob Goff quit going to Bible studies and joined a Bible Do group. This group of men gathers to read scripture and then makes plans to do that in their lives and lives of others around them.

 Consider this, a fan gets to sit and watch, cheer and holler, criticize and arm chair quarter back from the safety of the audience and then go about their lives in the same way they have always done, lots of passion for a moment but no action at any moment. A follower may do all of the cheering and hollering but they jump onto the game. They take the ball and go play the sport. No arm chair quarterbacks, no they are the real thing taking the hits, missing the throws, spitting the blood, spilling the sweat,  hearing the boos and ducking the cat calls. However, they also taste the victory and it is made sweeter through the blood, sweat and tears more so than any fan could ever imagine. I ask you who has more passion, the fan or the follower, the stalker or the doer?

 What kind of preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ would I be if I didn’t ask the question? Which am I a fan or follower a stalker or a doer? Which are you? I believe Jesus is not after fans, he had many at one point then he asked them to do the hard work to die to self to make sacrifices and they left all but the disciples. He then asked them if they were leaving too. If asked that same question how would you answer? Are you watching from the sidelines God’s kingdom at work wondering what He is doing or are you in the game getting dirty, injured and tired from the fray? Read Paul’s account of his life would you say he was a fan or a follower?

 Many people can fain passion, those who have it are the ones doing. True passion motivates us to play the game regardless of the cost. Jesus is passionate about you, he died for you remember. Our passion for politics should pale in comparison to our passion for Christ. How about your level of passion for him and his Kingdom?                       

     

In HIS Service and Yours,The Rev

I was involved in a discussion about...

...the Presidential debate last week. Even as the Vice Presidential candidates began the debate the previous weeks exchange was the topic of the conversation. It is so easy for the main thing to get lost in all the details.

Last week I attended Catalyst a gathering of leaders from across the country to be inspired, focused and reinvigorated. Matt Chandler lead pastor of The Village in Dallas, TX speaking of our aversion to getting off topic said, “This job [task, project etc.] is not better than Jesus.” Leaders have this predisposition to believe what they are doing is the most important thing for everybody, believing sometimes that it is the best. However, nothing is better than Jesus.

 As I opened I was involved in a discussion about the previous weeks debate. The conversation was lively like the vice presidential debate but it rambled from topic and point to point not really staying on topic. This election is an important topic and requires our attention and participation both in the debate and voting. It’s important but not more than Jesus. Really, is the next president going to save you from yourself? Is he going to lead you into eternity? Is he going to raise you from the dead? However, in those conversations the political belief and passion fans the flames and the points are thrown like darts at and to the opposing views. It can be dangerous! Is it more important than Jesus? After all, who ordains the leaders of our nation?

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Romans 13:1 NIV 1984

Yep, that is right, “for there is no authority except that which God has established.” Even if you did not vote for them, they have been allowed authority by God. It is Jesus who orders the world. Politics are not more important than Jesus. God has used leaders who did not know him for his purposes through history. Can he and would he still do that same?

So, what about this political season? Is the outcome more important than Jesus? Is the outcome more significant than Jesus? Is the course of this country outside of Jesus influence? Is he involved? The absolute answer is JESUS, NO, NO, NO and YES! Yes we are to be engaged, involved and passionate in the political process but will our lives end if our candidate does not win? Will your eternity be changed because a different candidate than yours takes office? Well in a word, NO.

The debate is good but misplaced priority. Who has the power to change lives, the course of human events into eternity? It might be a better to invest that passion and debate into the ONE who saves, redeems and restores for all time! Investing I the others by introducing them to the real power and authority of the universe Jesus.

       

In HIS Service and Yours,

The Rev

Can't you tell the moon is full?

I can. The children on the school bus have been crazy. The mayhem continues with Carolyn and a relationship calamity Monday during the day, that evening Lizzy cut her palm and finger when a Corelle plate exploded and at 3am Tuesday morning my Mother fell in her bedroom cutting her head and bruising her shoulder and arm. Did I tell you the moon is full?

Everybody is O.K. and recovering but it could drive a man to drink. Even a Baptist preacher whose last name is Pabst! Oh did I mention I was headed out of town for three days? I am trying to get done several days of work in one day and a half on Saturday. Did I mention the headache since I got up too? Yep, pile it on go ahead! That's the way we feel at times! Over our head overwhelmed by the weight of it all and all of it weighing at the same time.

How does a person of faith reconcile the life dilemma with the hope of faith? Well by belief, belief that God has your best at heart, belief that the tough times are the ones for our growth and HIS glory, belief that obedience leads to understanding instead of the other way around. Lastly, belief that WE WIN! Not so sure of the last part? Read Revelation chapters 21 and 22 the end of the story. We Win!

Paul writes of this belief in Romans 5:1-5 (NIV)
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

What this belief takes is action on our part. It is one thing to say the chair will hold me up. It is a completely different matter to sit in the chair trusting it to hold you up. In one of the opening scenes of The Patriot with Mel Gibson his character is a farmer and chair maker during the American Revolution. We see him testing an unfinished chair by sitting in it and rocking. His children are hidden in the shadows watching his activity when the chair collapses and he falls to the floor. In frustration he breaks the rest of the chair apart and throws it on the as yet unseen pile of previous failures. Someone had to sit in it. Our faith has to be tested to become a real living faith. But once is not enough. Our transformation is multifaceted and slow, over a life time slow.  We have got to act on it and continue acting on it until Jesus comes. Perseverance produces character and character hope. Hope is what we need when there is a full moon!

Ah but this too shall pass. Life is a cycle, changing always moving towards the next season. The transformation of the saints is always moving forward as it is God who is our change agent. He just uses full moons to accomplish more of the change! Thanks be to Him that they only come every 28 days.


In HIS Service and Yours,
The Rev