Just As I Am

Messed up! No good... Piece of trash... Damaged goods...All of these sentiments are sometimes how we feel at some point in our lives. We either have people tell us, or we allow the enemy to whisper such things in our ear. Sometimes its because of a disability or other circumstance that we are forced to live with, and other times, its just because we feel that we can never do anything right, no matter how hard we try. Let me say, that I am glad to be part of a faith family that does not believe those lies for one second, and that values every person, because our heavenly father values them. God has not placed your worth on a lower tier simply because of an infirmity or age. He doesn't "discount" you because you feel worn out, or damaged. In fact, the bible teaches us that we have a very high value on our lives from the time we are in the womb, until we pass away, and even after that, we must be considered VIP's, I mean after all, He is building us a mansion and giving us a home that will last forever! Sometimes we lose sight of our value, and allow what we see in the short term, to cloud what God wants to do through us. I was reading one such story this morning, about a lady who was sick most of her life and disability had hardened her heart. The ladies name was Charlotte Elliott, and she would take tangents, just lashing out at God..."If God loved me, He would not have treated me this way", she often exclaimed. She was very angry, and described as very hateful towards those who claimed Christ as Savior, until one day a Swiss minister visited her, and when she finished raging and carrying on, he looked at her with compassion and asked, "You are tired of yourself, aren't you? You are holding to your hate and anger, because you have nothing else in this world to cling to." Charlotte looked into his humble face and responded "What is your cure?" To which the old Swiss minister replied "The faith you are trying to despise". They continued to talk and finally Charlotte broke and asked "If I wanted to become a Christian and share the peace and joy that you posses, how would I do that?" The answer that she received would not only be her point of understanding and set her free in how she looked at Jesus, but would also become one of the most beloved hymns of all time. The minister looked up at her and simply said "You would give yourself to God, just as you are. With all of your fightings, and fears, hates and loves, pride and shame." Eventually, Charlotte would surrender to Christ, and would pen these words, that still ring true for all of us no matter our age, circumstance, background or creed..."Just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood, was shed for me. And that thou bidst me come to thee, O Lamb of God I come, I come."....What is it that keeps you from giving your all to Jesus, and serving him with everything you have? He loves you and wants you, just as you are! Research from "Then Sings My Soul" by Robert J Morgan

Motivated By Love

You are a motivator! Each and every day, God has called you to help motivate those coming behind you to serve Him and love Him with everything that they can. You have wisdom, experience and the Holy Spirit living inside of you to help you accomplish this, and because of those simple truths, you have the opportunity to be a real MOTIVATOR! But, what motivates you? What encourages you to keep going, serving, loving, working and making a difference? Is it guilt? Is it tradition? Do you keep on keeping on because you don't know how to do it any other way, or do you have a hard time finding any motivation at all? Sometimes, we lose our personal motivation and thats usually because what motivated us to begin with was an earthly goal, or something with no long term value. Today, let me encourage you to be consistent, and find motivation in this fact from 1 John 4:9, "We love God, because He first loved us!" WOW What a promise! That God loved us first! We did nothing to deserve it, nothing to earn it, He just decided a long time ago that HE- the creator of all things good, would LOVE YOU and love me! That is our motivation...our assurance and our hope! We strive to keep going because His LOVE is enough! We continue serving, because His love compels us to serve! We stand strong because we are loved by one with a love that knows no bounds! Even in times of heartache, problems or celebration, His love never changes and it never will! Let me end this weeks devotional with this great old song....

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen could ever tell
It reaches past the brightest star
And reaches to the lowest hell
The guilty pair, bowed down with care
God gave His son to win
His erring child He reconciled
And pardoned from His sin

Could we with ink, the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade
To write the love of God above
Would drain the oceans dry
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though Stretched from sky to sky

Just Stuff...

Work work work...and for what? Just to get stuff? We spend many hours working each year to earn a paycheck. Some may have funds given to them by family or draw a check, but no matter if you have a job or acquire means some other way, the question still remains, what are you going to do with your money? Well of course, you're going to buy stuff! Stuff to go on the wall, stuff to cook, stuff to put in your car, stuff to make you smell good, stuff to wear when you go out, stuff to play, stuff to sit on your shelf. Some buy stuff with the intention to give it away to other, but only keep it for themselves, and you know what happens? It gets piled in your spare bedroom. Sometimes I wonder if some people suffer from being a hoarder but dont realize it? My wife tells me I have that problem all the time due to my reasoning to keep EVERYTHING and throw away only things that smell bad or could be deemed expired.
I was actually at my Aunt Helen and Uncle Bills house just last week, both of whom have passed away well into thier 80's. I remember going to thier house as a kid and loving every minute of it. Aunt Helen always had something good to eat and would slip me candy before, during and after dinner. Like most of my family, Uncle Bill and Aunt Helen had accumulated alot of knick knacks over the years. They used to own a little neighborhood store and still had old clocks, thermometers and wat knots all over the garage. In the kitchen, Aunt Helen kept wooden spoons and wrought iron utensils hanging on the wall along with other bowls, mixers, etc on the counter. The real treasure trove was in the dining room where she kept a buffet table, shelf and curio cabinent covered and jam packed with, candy dishes, old news papers, books, games, clippings, pictures, gadgets and other odds and ends that I was intrigued with. One of my favorite things was an electronic bird that was her "pet" as she called it. Every now and then she would reach into that cabinent in the dining room and pull out this little bird in a box and tell it to sing for me and oh how much fun I had with that little guy. She also had one shelf dedicated to souviners that thier family had gotten on different vacations. A little calendar from Florida that flipped over each day as the date changed, little ash trays from little towns they had visited, oh and of course salt and pepper shakers from our very own dog patch trading post here in London.
Being back in the house last week brought so many memories to mind. As we walked through the house looking at different things, even noticing the picture that hangs on the wall behind the couch where it always had, an oil painting of Uncle Bill and Aunt Helen, one thing kept coming to mind. When you leave this place called earth, everything you leave behind stays behind. You can keep everything and anything. Put back all the canned veggies, paper bags, newspapers, dishes and tools, but one day when God calls you home, in the end, its just stuff. That ash tray that you bought in Montana, is now just stuff to be packed. That can opener that didnt work right but you hated to throw it away so you stored it in the attic, is now just stuff for somebody to dispose of. The clothing that you cant wait to wear out to dinner, but only wear it once, now becomes stuff that somebody else will give away. The bedroom suit that you maxed out your credit card to purchase, now becomes stuff that somebody will buy at a discounted price. From shoes, to cars. from golf clubs to jewlery. From old cool whip bowls to fine china, when the final buzzer sounds in life its all just stuff.
So keep in mind that when you spend your hard earned paycheck on something that makes you look as cool as somebody else, or you make that large purchase that puts you into debt when you could have gotten by with something much less expensive, ask God to give you wisdom on how to spend your money, because there could be a better way. But not only should we consider the Lord in our spending, but in our giving! The next time you buy a new shirt, give one of your old ones away. When you purchase a new sofa, find a new couple just married in your church or neighborhood and bless them with new furniture. Big, small, pricey, or cheap...when you leave this life, in the end what you leave behind, well its all just stuff!

New Campus, new challenges!

Well here we are, over 15 weeks at the new Hawk Creek campus and God is still amazing us weekly! Not just on Sunday but throughout the week. It seems that everywhere we look there are people hurting and in need of love, forgiveness and Gods grace. In fact, those same people have been our main reason for building anything at all. As we journeyed through the building process, we tried to keep in mind those families and individuals who were not even part of the faith family yet, but in time would hear the gospel and respond.
Like every new home, car or other items, the building still has that "new" feel to it and some people are overtly excited just to have a place that the sound system doesn't require set up and seats do not have to be rearranged weekly. The carpet still looks new, there are barely any markings on the wall and there are no permanent stains as of yet from Cletus dropping his coffee in Sunday school. But stains on the carpet or paint chipping are not the obstacles that we want to avoid. After all, if you're going to love on people, no matter where they come from, you are going to get dirty. The challenge that we face as humans is, that we don't become complacent!
It would be so easy to look back over the last year and say "Thank you Lord for the building and allowing everything to be completed. Since you brought us here, I think we'll sit down a while!" That would be a dangerous place to be...God did not allow us to build, only to finish the project and declare victory. A building project completed, does not a complete ministry make, and it is simply just another tool in our belt that we pray God uses to reach our community with news of Gods grace! We could say that now we have room, lets just chill out a while, but living the Christian life requires action, not just through a relocation process but throughout our entire lives.
What an opportunity to give God worship by simply standing firm in our commitment to continue working, serving, singing, and loving. I pray that God will give us extra zeal to keep moving, making a greater impact on those who are watching. Let our testimony be that we didn't stop to take a break, but that our joy was found in going forward to reach as many as we could with the gospel! In our perseverance, God is honored and our lives will be a testimony of worship to our great God!

God is not fair!

To live in a world that says everybody has to be treated equally and that we should do everything we do with the consideration of making everybody feel the same, it seems almost passe' to make the statement that God Is Not Fair! In fact, my own ears almost curled when I first heard somebody make the assumption that the loving, gracious and holy God that I have served for the last 20 years could be unfair. In my mind, the idea of God as unfair or not considerate equated to a un-loving or cruel God that I did not want to serve or worship, and didn't resemble the God I had developed in my head. We love to see God as the God of blessing, prosperity and giving, but what about those people who have spent the last decade in war torn, poverty stricken nations who cry themselves to sleep because they are starving and are not even sure that they will wake up when the do finally doze off? They don't know life any other way, or see that it could be better, like we do. What about those children who are sold into the sex trade without even being able to say no and end up brutally tortured and some murdered? How is it that I have been blessed to grow up with good parents, loving family, always having a roof over my head and food to eat yet many kids will never experience what I know as a normal life? Many times we shape and mold God into an idea that suits our fragile minds and allows us to still get all warm and fuzzy. We make God out to be a very "Americanized", version of who He really is. The fact is though that while Gods character is equivocally without doubt, love, grace, mercy and justice, it is not in any shape, form or fashion even close to being fair, at least not as we see fair. You can still be loving without being fair. You can still be love and serve justice, without being fair. If there are 4 kids on the baseball field, 2 who can really play and 2 that can not even catch a ball or run very fast. Lets say we put choose all 4 kids to play on our team no matter what their talent. While it might be fair to the 2 kids who cant play, just to make them feel good to be on the team, its not really justice because as a coach part of my job is to develope and manage a winning team. I havent served justice to my team sponsor, other kids, or parents by placing bad players on our team just so I can be fair. It would even be true to say that I averted justice by putting the kids who can not catch well at all by placing them in the outfield, only to be fair and allow "everybody" a turn. If the object is to win, and in most games it is, then I will play the best players at the best times in order to score runs and accomplish the win. When we come to the conclusion that God is not always fair, it will help us deepen our love and appreciation for who He is in our lives and all He has done for us. I don't know all of the whys behind God's choices, but I do know His motives are pure and that He has my best interest at heart. Accepting the idea that God is not fair will also cause us to worship Him more passionately! You ask, "Daniel how in the world would deciding that God really isn't fair make me want to stand up, shout and raise my hands to somebody who doesn't value fairness?" Take this into consideration... The fact that you are able to have access to the Internet, have obtained enough education to read this post and that I have written it in a free society where I am afforded the right to free speech, tells me that you and I have been shown much much more grace by God than we would ever deserve! Knowing this truth should kindle a deep fire inside of us that crys out to God just to say THANK YOU LORD! We have been allowed to hear the gospel, worship in comfortable church buildings, read a well printed, leather bound copy of the word of God. If God were really fair, and had given me what I deserved, I would have never heard the gospel more than once, and really not even once! If God were really fair, I would have been born with far less belongings, in the middle of a jungle somewhere never knowing what friendship or family meant, but that was not the plan! To God be the glory, that He blessed me to have the life I have lived and have been able to hear the gospel, accept Christ, and live out my faith! We should worship Him for not only the simple things such as breath and blessings but for allowing us, to be His child, serving Him and giving us the chance to serve Him and others! Is God fair? I don't think so, but it does not mean that He loves us less or wants to mis-treat us. Because God will always do what is right, and I can trust Him with everything I have in this life and all that will be, in the life to come! While God may not be fair as I see fairness, I do know that He is faithul and will always love and lead me for His glory and my good!

New Year, New ideas!

Today is the first day of the next decade! Can you believe that 1/1/11 is here? No doubt there will be some exciting and modern couple who will take advantage of the unique sequence and tie the knot in the morning or tomorrow night at 11am/pm. That will make thier wedding date be 1/1/11 at 11:11am/pm. Yeah that might be a little far but you get the picture. With a new year, usually comes new resolutions, thoughts and ideas. Along these same lines, I want to challange you to find new ways to worship and respond to God. There are many ways to express worship to the Lord, some of which you may have never even thought of or even tried. Think about it this way...God, who is very creative and loving, made you with personality, talent, and so many other traits, but how many times do we use these other "things" to worship or respond to God for His goodness? How many times do we try things, we never tried before to honor the Lord? Maybe you have never raised your hands in praise, or sang loudly. Maybe you only give the minimal and have never really given till it hurts. Maybe you have never been on a mission trip, but are ready to venture out. Whatever it may be, step up and be the kind of worshipper that God desires! One that is not afraid to be passionate and creative in the way you worship Him! Give financially till it hurts, and watch God provide! Lift your hands during that song that you love and sing to the top of your lungs to the Lord! Find that neighbor or friend that you have a hard time loving, and serve them as Jesus would! Whatever you do, do it with passion as unto the Lord! It's 2011...what new ideas will you come up with to worship and respond to our great God? Let's go all out and be "city shakers" with the gospel and truth that is found in Jesus. Let's sing Gods word, read Gods word, study Gods word and live out Gods word! Find that new idea, and lets get busy worshipping Jesus in this new decade!

Hope, Heaven and Holidays!

Thanksgiving is just the beginning...Actually, now it all starts way before Thanksgiving and keeps going strong till December 25th! What is it? You guessed it, the Christmas season has now branched out to include all of about 2 months, maybe a few more days. This time of year we find ourselves cooking, shopping, eating, traveling, charging our credit and did I say eating? We are going in every direction, and usually at the same time. We spend time looking for that perfect gift, wrapping it in just the right paper, and delivering it in such a way that even Santa would be jealous, but do we ever stop to think that this would be a perfect season to worship? Thanksgiving and Christmas are great opportunities to live a lifestyle in front of family and friends that shows them the importance of Christ in your life. Show them by being slow to anger when they make those comments that normally would make you open up a can of Christmas kick butt! Take a few minutes to read the Christmas story to your entire family and remind them what the season is all about. If its Thanksgiving, why not actually live out the name and give thanks openly for the great things God has done for you! Use every opportunity you can to show Christ and the difference He makes in your life and the life of your family, because in doing so you are worshipping God through being light. You are giving Him praise by leading others to be fully devoted followers of Christ. The hope that we posses should cause us to act and speak differently, especially around people who have no clue about what it means to be free and happy in Jesus. We have a place in heaven because of the one who stepped out of eternity and into time, as a sweet baby boy. Jesus came not so we could run up our debt to income ratio but so we could lift up His renown and shout His fame to all the earth. This holiday season, lets speak about, sing about and show others, that thanksgiving and Christmas are not just 2 days for a Christ follower but are more of a lifestyle to live out every day of the year!

Some things you cant do without!

What are some things you couldnt live your life without? I mean if you were going on a 2 year trip and and could only take 5 things with you, what would they be? In the physical sense, you might say tooth brush, underwear, ipod, blanket and a car. Maybe you would want to take your favorite candy, or cell phone, or what about pictures of loved ones or a shirt that you love to wear 5 times a week. Whatever the items are that you choose, they will no doubt be important to you and things that make you feel like you can make the 2 year trip without a problem. In the spiritual sense you might choose different things such as your bible, prayer, devotional book, worship, and your favorite worship music. Some of those things arent really a choice, because God has given us some of these tools to make our life better. Prayer being one of those things, that as a Christ follower we cant do without. There is one cheesy line but its actually true..."7 days without prayer makes one weak!" When we neglect to talk to God and worship Him by praying and spending time with Him, it doesnt fail to change Gods plan or mind, but it does cause us to be less like Jesus and rely much more on our on strength. So the next time you think you can make it on your own, or imagine what it is that you would choose on a dessert island, remember that some things you cant do without, and by choosing wisely, you can and will become stronger in your faith and thrive even in rough times!

Class Reunion vs Facebook!

I received an email back in the spring about an upcoming class reunion for my old high school class. Being the people person that I am, I was excited. Just to see how everybody had changed in 10 short years and finding out what they were doing in life. How many kids they have and if they married their high school sweetheart. I also thought that everybody in my class would share the same sentiment, but this was not the case. I started to ask around to see who was planning on going, and most had the attitude of "who cares...I am not paying $25 to go back and see people I didn't like in the first place, besides I already keep up with the ones I do like on facebook." This brought several questions to my mind, but the number one conundrum was, "Has facebook killed face to face contact?" In an age of technology, there is no doubt that such networking sites as Twitter and FB are very important! I use both on a daily basis to keep in touch with people, communicate vision and even keep track of some church family that are sick or hurting that might need a visit or call. The problem that presents itself is when we would rather drop an email or tweet a message than talk face to face. In fact, sometimes this is how we treat our time of worship with the Lord. We would rather give God just a few minutes rather than spend time listening to Him. God doesn't want us to check into worship on Sunday morning or our quiet time through the week with a mere status update and then sign off. He knows our entire history and the reality is, that he wrote our profile himself and knows our very heart and intentions. For me it is so hard to find time to spend just seeking Him and letting Him speak to me, but its a must if I want to be the best husband, friend or pastor that I can be. Speaking on a social level, even our friends deserve more than just a quick post on their page, they deserve a phone call and even a face to face conversation, if for nothing else, at least to encourage them and build them up. Even though our class reunion has been postponed (due to lack of registrations) I still hope to catch up with some of my old friends soon, and see whats going on and maybe even encourage a couple of them!

Work it up or wait for it?

Isn't it funny how we view Gods presence and worship sometimes? I mean we come into the music service and think that because we lift our hands, or sing loudly or even dance around, that God is going to respond and "send his spirit" in a special way because we have "convinced" Him to do so with our actions. When we think through this kind of theology, its not very biblical, and actually is very "cult" like. If the way to get Gods attention is through something that we do, or the entire service is focused on getting God to "move" then we have missed our mark! In fact, working up the presence of God or competing for His touch, is exactly what was happening with the prophets of Baal when Elijah encountered them at Mount Carmel(I Kings 18:16-39). They were not seeking the One true God, but were trying to get thier god to notice them. There was Gods man facing a showdown with a heathen group of people, needing only to ask God for His power while all the while, the prophets of Baal were shouting, cursing, even cutting themselves to get their God to move. How sad to serve something or somebody that would only re-act to you because of what you do for them, when our God has already did everything for us. Which is the whole reason that we come to worship together. The whole point of our singing, clapping, raising hands, dancing, shouting and celebration is to respond to what God has already accomplished through Jesus Christ His Son (Ps66)! We bring our best offering because He loved us first(Ps 136:2)! We do everything with excellence because He gave His best(John 3:16)! We dont have to work up the Spirit of God, because He lives in us (Jn 14:17), and wants to move and bless his people. He empowers us to live for Him, so that His kingdom will expand and those on the outside will know, its not about what you do, but its all about what He has done and continues to do in those who will trust Him!

Backwards Worship Part 1

There are different actions involved in worship at different time. Sometimes we clap, sometimes we sing, at other times we might even dance, but I have found that there is another action that we tend to look over as a "non-action" if you will. For some reason we think that to be "doing" something is worship, but there are times that we find we can worship God best when we simply wait on Him! Sounds kind of moronic to think if we sit still and just wait, that we are actually doing something, but its true, and what we are doing most of all is being obedient! Each week as worship leaders plan song sets, there are things we must be aware of, one of which is time. Time is something that is precious, that you cant get back once it passes. You have to consider the best use of the time you are given, and consider that there is another service following the first which requires time. However I find myself concerned that in our quest for better time management that we time God right out of the picture. In planning many times, how often do we ask the important questions of "Does this song exalt Christ"? "Can we use this to focus people on Gods love?" "Are we allowing enough time to just wait on Him?" Scripture tells us over and over, especially in the Psalms to wait on the Lord and seek Him, but instead we tell God to wait on us. In essence we say to the Lord "You can wait till my planned schedule is over and if you have time to move, go for it!", or "Ok God! I am giving you 10 minutes and 2 songs, 2 prayers and a nice speech to do your thing, so get to it...clock is running!". How absurd and utterly rude that we, the creation would try to place God the creator in a box and tell Him, the King the way its going to be! When Jesus took the disciples up the hill to pray with Him, He came back and found them asleep and asked them "Could you not wait for just an hour?" Sometimes we are so ready to get in, start the clock and get out that we do not wait and seek, instead we sprint and rush! What happened to the scripture that talks about prayer and fasting, or the passages that tells us not to grow weary in well doing? It seems we are comfortable to water down and do less and less, when Jesus exhorted us to do more and more as we see the day approaching! Don't get me wrong, having a plan and following it is a necessity. After all I would rather have a plan and God change it when He moves, then to have no plan at all and God not move, but falling in love with a plan or system more than loving the Spirit and presence of God is dangerously wrong. Some say we should use our personal time of worship to "wait" and "seek" and this is true, however when Gods people meet to worship cooporately through music and preaching, we are charged to gather not so we can show off our talent and preform but to bring him thanksgiving and hear from Him. The church was not created to be a show palace, but to be a place that we are charged and sent out to make the difference. If lost people come, let them come but let them see us with our hearts poured out before the Lord! Will they think this is strange? Maybe.... Will they feel uncomfortable? Possibly, but thats usually what happens when God is active around lost people...its not us making them feel uncomfortable, its the Spirit of God convicting and dealing, just as He does with us when we are out of line. So, lets think a moment....Were we created to wait on the Lord? And if so, are we guilty of telling God to wait until we can schedule Him in?

Leading worship requires some sweat!

Everybody these days wants to find short cuts and easy ways to accomplish everything, from the job they do to their marriage! Nobody likes to take the "long road", but sometimes its the road that takes the longest amount of time that offers the most rewards and wisdom. I found myself trying to take the easy way out just a couple of weeks ago as I mowed my yard (which seems to grow faster and get larger every week).We have a small side yard as well as a larger side yard and the front and back. All of these parcels can be mowed for the most part with a riding mower, but not the small side yard. As I stood looking at everything I had just mowed, I thought to myself, now if I could just get the riding mower in that small side yard, I could finish up alot faster! I finally made the decision to try and fit the riding mower through the side gate and therefore minimize my time over all. At the time it sounded like a good idea but 45 minutes later, the "good" turned to just another stupid idea. I learned that day that my riding mower can not fit through the side gate and will get stuck if you maneauver it just right :) So after getting the mower unstuck, I grabbed to push mower and finished up the small side yard, taking a grand total of 3 hours to do something that should have taken more like 2 hours. In leading worship, or any other ministry for that matter, it is always wise to do what you need to do in order to get the right result! In worship, our result should be to bring a prepared heart and life of worship to the Lord. In music, our desire is to be ready to do our best as we play, sing, dance or act. Doing our best is not always showing up 30 minutes before the service starts to run over something and hope we have picked the correct "God breathed" order of worship and music. I get frustrated when people who are "part time" say to me, "Well you know I do work another job and just don't have the time to plan all the time like you do." This is an easy cop out and should be interpreted to something like, "I had some time to work on the worship and music this week, but between the ball game, hanging out with friends, sitting by my pool, surfing the web and the other not so important things, I didnt have time by the end of the week." No matter if you are full or part time or volunteer, there is time other than Sunday, and it takes more time other than Sunday to prepare. It might mean some late nights, or early mornings and maybe some time away from the internet but time is there...find it! Be early for practices, love the people you are leading, and serve them! Don't blow into choir practice late and blame it on the kids or another ministry. Don't cut practices short because you want to go hang with your friends....put a little extra effort! Giving a little more doesnt mean you will always have to take the "hard road" but it does mean that there will be times you will have to give more than everybody else...after all you are a leader! Give till it hurts and give some more! God did not call you to sit back and let others serve you, but for you to serve others! Don't sit back and say "I'll just let them do it, after all Im raising up other leaders", but say "I will do it with them and help them to become leaders who give thier best". Jesus didnt sit at the head table and say "Ok boys, I am raising you as leaders so you do the work and I will supervise!" Not at all...Jesus said, "Hey let me show you how its done and you follow my example". May those of us in worship ministry be willing to sweat a little and work hard to be prepared to declare His truth and worthiness, each week in practice and in service!

The Milk Man on Wilson Lane

After several emails, the majority wanted to hear about the Milk Man! Thanks for those of you who read this blog and responded.

I am writing this blog on a Saturday morning here at the house. On Saturdays, I sometimes sit in our sun room, listen to the birds, read, do my quiet time and look out of the window. Ironically enough, when I was young, looking out the window was part of my routine as a child too, even though it was for entirely different reasons. We lived in a place called Noetown and from our window in our town home, I felt I was king of the world. You could look all the way down the entire street. You could also see the local grocery store, as people came and went with their groceries, ice cream and soda pop. And why did I sit at our window on Saturday mornings? To watch for the milk man to pull up to the grocery store. His name was Buddy Mike (still not sure what his real first name is), and he was definitely a prominent figure from early years. Each Saturday that big white and red truck would pull to the side of "Walt's Grocery", and I would beg my parents to take me over across the street to see Buddy. While I waited on my parents to get ready, I would sometimes raise the window and yell "Hey Buddy Mike" and he would always peek out of the back door in his truck and respond "Hey there little man!" As we would make our way over, I knew what was coming. I could hardly wait as we walked what seemed to be at the slowest pace. About the time we would approach the truck I would hear "Come on in here and lets see what we got". Buddy always seemed to know when we were close without ever seeing us coming. My dad would sit me up in his truck and I remember the sights of that truck always fascinated me. There were towers of crates, some holding buttermilk, sour cream and even ice cream, but those things were not what I came for. About the time I would finish scanning everything with my eyes, Buddy would pop out from behind a tower of milk and say "Is that what your looking for?" and hand me a small kid size chocolate milk! I would enthusiastically say "Yes sir!" and take the milk right out of his hand. As a kid, I thought this was something every milk man did for children everywhere, but in reality it wasn't. Buddy would sometimes pick me up and carry me into the store to help stock the shelf, all while telling me how big I was getting and treating me like I was his very own grandson. Even as I got older, when Buddy would see me out he would go to the back of his truck and get a chocolate milk to give to me. Buddy was always kind, and usually always willing to give with a smile. I noticed as I got older that Buddy was a friend of our families, who was there whenever there was a death or difficulty in life. Back then to have somebody like that in a community was special. Somebody who worked in your community, somebody you could trust and somebody who cared about others. Today, that is a rare find, but I am thankful that it was something I was able to experience. Buddy reminds me sometimes of Jesus in the idea that he was always willing to give, most times before I even ask. James 1:17 says all good and perfect gifts come down from the Father of lights! I am humbled that God would even want to bless us and give us things, and yet He is more than willing and able! Thank God for a man like Buddy Mike who in simple ways, taught me to love others and give whatever I could. He also taught me to invest in others, especially those younger and show love in work or outside of the job! Thank you Lord for allowing me to grow up around people like Buddy Mike, the milk man!

People...From home!

I had an idea recently, and hope each one of you find it interesting. I was thinking back about my childhood and the different people that God used to impact my life. Some I remember, were just sweet people living life, others were spiritual mentors. My mind went back to the simple things like, things that were said, actions I had observed and mistakes that I remembered others making. I thought about times that I messed up and those I looked up to giving me advice. Then I began to wonder if my kids would ever have people like these giants in thier lives. If this generation was really being poured into the way I was. So in a feeble effort to preserve some great advice and stories, I want to write a series of posts about people I grew up around and lessons learned from them. If you read this article, I want your feedback. Below I will give you several choices of people that impacted my life from back home, along with a brief description of each. If you would, please email me and vote for one of them by giving me the name you would like to read about first! Please use the email...

praisemusicman@yahoo.com

1. Thomasa Risner- My music teacher from K-5 through High School.
2. Buddy Mike- Local Milk man, who always had a good word and a special suprise.
3. Aunt Helen- Better known as Miss Hillwig...Loving, sweet and sassy.
4. Preacher Bingham- Childhood Pastor...Pastored same church 52 yrs
5. Mama Pearly- Prayer warrior, woman of God...Always at Pearlies gate.
6. J.R- Playing golf with peanuts and a coke.

Recap of The Solemn Assembly from The Creek

Last Sunday was one of those days that words were not enough to describe it! There are days that Gods presence is so heavy and He does so much that to actually tweet, blog or write about it is not doing the event justice. However, last Sunday was not an event but a begining of a great move of God! As perscribed in the book of Joel, our pastor called the creek to a solemn assembly...to seek God, to listen to God and to respond to God! For too long our church, as many others, have been satisfied with status quo and reaching some yet ignoring others. We have become complacent in our worship, wasteful with our time and lost the passion to share the greatest news that changed our lives. Sunday was the day, we asked God to change us! As people came into the worship center, they were asked to remain quiet and prayerful as scripture scrolled on the screen. Signs were held around the room as a reminder and some people sat quietly reading their bible. You could sense from the parking lot that this would not be a typical service or Sunday, and that God was already dealing with hearts. The time came and the music started as we sang to God and worshipped Him as God Of The Ages. Hands were raised, tears were flowing and voices sang as if it were one single sound! Our pastor came to the platform and called us to the Solemn Assembly, explaining why were there and what we were asking God to do. We began seeking Gods face and asking God to break our hearts and our pride! When the call was given to respond, the alter quickly filled, with people who were hurting and broken over the pride of the heart. You could hear as people wept and cried out before the Lord! From that point on, the service took on a whole new light as people responded to each call to do business with God. As our Pastor called us to confess sin, pray for needs, repent, turn and seek Gods face, the people were being touched by the Lord and His presence was so evident. People that were dry, and thirsty for a fresh move of God called out to Him and He responded. As the service continued, some that were living life away from God, came and responded to Him by re-commiting their lives, while others who were not saved, came and gave their lives to Christ! Some came wanting to be baptized, and without reservation, we baptized them on the spot! Couples were coming to pray together for healing in thier marriage, for the children, and other reasons. Adults and students alike were responding to whatever God was speaking to thier hearts! All of this activity of God was so wonderful and exciting, but our prayer is not that it is contained in the walls of the creek! Our prayer is that God will start something in us that will spread to other churches, to our city, our state and our nation! The sad thing is, some will brand this move of God as nothing more than hype or emotion, but the fact is, if we seek God and respond to God He will move in our lives! It might not be the way you expect, or even something you are comfortable with, but as long as its Him at work, you can trust the outcome will be for your good and His glory!

The Man In The Mirror

I was riding in the car the other day with my wife, when a song came on the radio. Mel commented that the song playing used to be a secular song but that she had always liked it, and now it was being played on the christian station. I listened to the words and it was true! The song that was written as a secular tune, actually could be applied to the christian life. We began to talk about the other songs that we knew that could be used the same way and what would you know, an old Michael Jackson song came to mind. "Man In The Mirror" began to play in my mind then the scripture passage from Proverbs started to come to me. "As water reflects the face, so the heart reflects the man". WOW! It could be said of some that vanity is a problem but not so much for me. I hate looking into the mirror. Every time I do, I see all of the blemishes, imperfections and unpleasent things I do not like about my looks. I see my big nose, huge eyebrows, crooked teeth, receeding hairline, etc. It is scary! Still, if I want to look presentable, I have to look at the man in the mirror to see what needs to be done. Does my hair need brushing? Do I have any food in my mustache? Is it time to shave? Until I take a look at the reflection, I have no idea what needs to be done to stay groomed, or even how to do it. We have to use a mirror in order to shave correctly or else, I would shave my gotee off. I have to have the mirror to comb my hair or it might stick up in places and not in others. Do you see the connection? As much as we hate it, sometimes we need to examine the heart to see if we really are measuring up to the standards that God has asked us to live by. The heart tells the story, and allows us to get a good snap shot of where we are exactly in our walk with Christ! Some of us are the same with our heart reflection as we are with our actual mirrored image...we would rather walk away and not look, but this is not an option for the child of God! We should always be willing to make changes in our spiritual apperance so that we reflect God and not ourselves! Looking at our heart reflection can sometimes be sickening, but the more we come to terms with who we really are and who He really is, the more we will be like Him, but it all starts with the man in the mirror! Let me close with this short story. I heard of a pastor once who, led a small church that had once upon a time been an on fire, lively, soul winning, growing congregation but had lost the passion to do just about anything over the years. Attendance had slumped, guests were not very welcomed, the nursery had dropped to 2 on a good Sunday and the only thing to report in the newsletter was how nice the social was last Saturday! Missions had become something that "other people" did and the vision for the church consisted of nothing more than a plan to maintain what was already going on. Churches around them that were growing were labled as "liberal" and "worldly" and many of the members gossipped but made sure to fashion it in the form of a prayer request. After becoming tired and distressed about the situation, the pastor commented that he felt like sundays were like going to a funeral home, so he had an idea. He decided to preach an entire message in the same style as if he were preaching a funeral. He talked about the "dearly departed" and how we loved the one who had passed. He talked about good times and the memories. As the pastor continued, he talked about all the qualities that were loved about the deceased and even how much others were dependent upon them, however throughout the whole message, the preacher never gave the name. All at once, the back doors came open and a casket, shiny, black with silver handles was rolled into the sanctuary. The pastor slowly made his way to the head of the casket as he closed his bible and opened the lid. He asked the church to come around row by row for the final viewing. As each person intrigued by who this poor soul was that had met with an untimely death peered into the coffin, they were astonished to find a mirror! In place of a corpse resting in peace, it was their own reflection that glared back at them! "This is a sick joke" one man whispered. "He has lost his mind" a lady from the back said. Finally the last row had came by the coffin and peeked in, then the Pastor stepped back into the pulpit and announced, "Thank you for coming to the funeral of a dead church". The people were angry and some even left the church, but the truth was still there! The people were dead and had failed for many years to take inventory of themselves personally and as a church, until they saw a familiar reflection, one they recognized laying in the coffin...their own! It was not until we get honest, open our eyes and look that we might find a similar situation in our personal and spiritual lives, but we must face the mirror and look into our heart!

Call to Repent

My pastor published the following article on his blog just a couple of days ago. After praying for a couple weeks, I really believe that God is getting ready to shake our church for His glory and bring about a fresh revival. I am so thankful for a Pastor whos heart is honest and trusting in God to move.

A Call to Repentance
Over the past few weeks our church has been seeking God for a fresh authentic move of God in our fellowship. For three weeks on Sunday morning we have been examining the parable of the prodigal son. The bottom line of those messages was this: God calls both the religious and irreligious to repentance.

Repentance is a prerequisite for any revival. As a church we have been talking through Joel on Sunday evenings and examining the prophet's call to return to God with weeping, fasting, and with torn hearts instead of torn garments. God's word is teaching us that true revival is impossible apart from true repentance. So with that in mind, here is our church's confession as we seek revival.
We believe Christ is brokenhearted over the state of His church – specifically ours. For too long we have taken credit for being better than what He knows us to be. We have been guilty of hiding behind superficial numbers and busy church calendars as evidence that we are good at doing church. We have written of church fellowships and special offerings because confronting the uncomfortable reality of the things that truly matter is much more difficult. We brag about those who have joined our church knowing that most likely many have just left another church. In the absence of God’s saving activity among us, we tend to retreat by writing about trivial things such as trips, bean dinners, brownie sales, or other things of the like.

However, in recent months, we have found ourselves in desperate need of revival. God has blessed us indeed, but we have become distracted by those blessings. To be quite honest, we are dry and in need of the rain of revival. It’s been too long since we have experienced a mighty move of God. It has been far too long since I have introduced someone to our congregation who I have personally led to Christ … and the same is true for our church staff and deacons. While sad to say, our church has been following our example. Undoubtedly, we have unconfessed, unrepented sin on many pews. It has been far too long since genuine repentance characterized one of our services. We are attempting to be obedient to Joel’s call to return to God with weeping, fasting, and with torn hearts instead of torn garments. We are guilty of hypocrisy and playing religion while people are dying and going to hell. We have been more in love with doing church rather than being the church. Please, forgive us – and pray for revival to come to our faith family. (Trevor Barton, Pastor)

Get A New Song

So many artists, so many songs! It seems that there are millions of options when it comes to new songs to sing and learn. I am constantly looking for new material for the worship team but sometimes because I am so picky, there arent too many songs that catch my attention, not to mention my ADD prevents me from listening to a song in its entirety sometimes.(that was a joke although totally plausible) I was reading just this morning about a new song. It was a melody and chorus that only comes from living a life for Jesus and serving Him. I began to ask myself, how do you get this song, how do you keep it? Its really not that hard, simply seek the Lord! Some people say that they do seek Him but cant find Him, but isnt that contrary to His word? He told us that if we would seek, we would find. When I found Christ, I found my song, and it is so beautiful! Every believer has a song, the question is, are you singing it? Maybe you have asked the same questions I have about finding your song or keeping it, if so here are some things God gave me during my quiet time.
Psalm 40 gives us a great road map to follow... First, you have to actually seek God! Thats right, there is some action required to this christian life. For some reason we think its ok to sit idle and expect God to come to us, but thats not what Psalms tells us, it calls us to action and tells us SEEK! Isaiah 55 confirms this with its admonishon to "Seek the Lord while He may be found". We find that which we seek after most. No wonder so many times life gets messed up. We are seeking to gain wealth, prosperity, recognition, large homes,position, power, everything but God! Most times when I find myself in trouble its because I stopped seeking God and went after selfish ambition. The second step is to allow God to do His work! The Psalmist tells us that God drew him out of the pit, and thank God that He still does that today. People I have encountered are usually in distress and want to stay there. They are happy with people always worried about them, comfortable with drama and ok with mediocre. They know nothing else but the pit so they are comfortable and dont allow God to move them. The best advice I was ever given concerning Gods move was, sit still and let Him. That is harder than it sounds, but its part of learning to "Wait on the Lord". If God is offering a hand, dont just smile, jump in His arms and let Him work in and through you. The next step is very difficult, especially if you dont allow God to be in total control, and that is "Trust the plan". When a platoon of soldiers go into battle, the first have a plan, and no matter what happens, you stick to the plan. You dont question, you cant disagree, you simply follow the stratagy and trust your life to your leaders judgement. That is what God is asking of us and assures us in verse 2 that our steps are secure! You might not always have a clue about the next step but you can be sure that its safe, as long as you are in Gods arms. Life has alot of blind curves, road blocks, obstacles and pit falls. The only way to survive is to let God give you the plan and simply follow it. The last point is easy but only comes after steps 1-3. You can get out of sync and you cant skip a step. When you seek, allow and trust thats when you learn that through the process of heartache, pain, somtimes joy and peace, there was a song being written. Before God places a song in your heart, He has to write the music of your life. If you are still holding on to the pen, dont expect the melody to be so sweet. But if you let go and trust thats when you will begin to sing! Sing your song loud! Sing your song to anyone who will listen and glorify God in the fact that your light is shining and the waiting, hoping and hurting is over, and now you can sing your new song. It might be a song of hope. It could be a song of praise. Maybe a song of deliverannce or grattitude. No matter what it will be a song of Love, to the only one who could have written it in a way only He knows how, and when God speaks a new song, it doesnt come from an earthly artist, but a heavenly author, and it will be a best seller!

New Year, New Worship

It is a brand new year, and I am sure that there are many of you who have made resolutions to be a better you. Some have resolved to lose weight, some have resolved to read books, some have even decided to be nicer to people. I have resolved several things myself but one that I want to be most intense is to be a better worshipper. I want to be more passionate and more intentional to read His word and be more like him. To be more focused in the corporate worship service and be a better example of an expressive worshipper. After all God created us as emotional beings and worship should be part emotion and an outward expression of the great inward change and touch of God! What about you? Are you satisfied with your worship? If not, its a great time to make a change and resolve to give God more of yourself! After all, that's what He is after anyway!!!!

More COW-BELL

There was a popular skit on the TV Show Saturday Night Live, that depicted a band having problems with a Rogue member who played the cowbell. The problem was every time he tried to actually play the cowbell, he would distract the other musicians and cause chaos, meaning the band had to stop the song and start over. Finally the producer of the band came out and demanded more cowbell, and announced that he had a "fever" and the only cure was MORE cowbell! The acting was great and the skit hilarious, however inside the church world, this parody is very true to an extent. So many people are crying out for MORE cowbell. They want to be heard, over everyone elses voice, or they want others to pay attention to them and their needs instead of their neighbor. When choir members are more concerned about hearing themselves more on the platform than the heart they bring to worship, its too much. When Pastors rule the church staff as a dictator instead of leading like a shepherd, its too much. When committee members that should be serving a function in the church, ignore Gods Word in order to please their conscious, its too much. When the regular church attender can pick out problems in everybody else's life but cant see any fallacies in their own, there is a problem. What is the problem? What does too much mean? Simply put, the needs and wants of our own flesh have become the proverbial cowbell in the church. We speak up, and loudly, only when it will benefit self. We make a scene and cause division, at the cost of God blessed unity and love. We play our personal cow bell so loudly, that the rest of the band is overshadowed and if anybody may try to help us town it down to blend, we purposely play louder or right in the ear of the one trying to help. What is the cowbell in your life? Who in your ministry plays the cowbell too loud? God gives us a challenge to work together to be unified and allow our lives to play Jesus a song of praise for who He is and what He has done. God is not looking for more cowbell, he is looking for more unity and obedience. More love and faithfulness. More praise and more worship. Put the cow bell down and serve without reservation. Give yourself and let Him help you become not just a cowbell player but a true worshipper of Him!