A thought for Thanksgiving

For those of us who live here in the United States of America, we are preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving.  The time of year where we sit aside a day and give thanks for what we have.  I have heard a lot of people say do we really have all that much to give thanks for?  After all there are many without jobs, money is tight, the economy is not really picking up at all.  Do we really have anything to be thankful for at all?  I don’t want to rain on the gloomy day parade going on here in this country but I think we should look at some statistics and some things going on around world.  First I would like to point out an interesting fact and that fact is that if you make $11,500 you are in the top ten percent of the world’s wealthiest people.  Think about that for a minute, while many of us in the U.S. would say that you can’t live on $12,000 a year’s many people in Africa are living on $700 or less a year (www.financialjesus.com).  Same in many countries around the world and many children are dyeing due to malnutrition, and lack of modern medicine.

While on Black Friday many plan to go buy gifts for their families they will spend what some make in a year, or even two years.   I don’t say all this to make you feel guilty about having so much I say this to awaken you to a problem that many of us even myself up until just recently turned a blind eye to because it was easier to ignore and focus on what I did not have but wanted.  We who follow Christ and have accepted the truth of the gospel have to truly take a look at what we can do to help these people.  Autumn and I have discussed this, together  we have picked out an organization in our city that helps the poor, and also one in Uganda that helps feed and provide medicine for the poor and orphans.  We discussed not getting gifts for Christmas so we can spend more of what God has so graciously given us, to give to those in need.   Paul tells young Timothy in 1^st Timothy 6:17-19; ^“Tell those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone. But their trust should be in the living God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give generously to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them.  By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of real life^” (NLT)

No longer living in the past part four

Maybe your sitting there saying you have no idea what I have done I walked in such a way that I don’t deserve the love of God. First off let me say this no one deserves the love of God, but God is offering it He is offering us freedom from our lives, from our pasts.  He says come and drink of the water of life.  How awesome is that.  The creator of this plant of all things, the God who created us, and we spit on Him, we mocked Him we turned our backs on Him and even denied Him, all while He hung on a cross so we no longer needed to be condemned.  How dare we, not forgive.  How dare we not accept that kind of Love.

God is saying I want you to stop living in the past, and come live in my Kingdom.  Let go of the past and don’t worry about what you have done, your forgiven I love you.   Christ told a story of a son who wanted his money so he could go and live in the world and he left lost all his money was sleeping in the gutters and eating food meant for animals.  He then woke up one morning and went said I can go and be a servant at my father’s house.  He got home and his father accepted him back.  Give him back all the rights of being his son.  We are all that son we should only hope to be servants in God’s house, yet He says come and be a part of my family.  It is time to stop living in the past and start living for God. 

No longer living in the past part Three

Maybe it’s not that anyone done anything to you maybe there is something in your past that you did, you let a friend or you feel you failed your spouse or children.  Maybe you said some hurtful things to someone.  Now you are carrying it around with you wonder to yourself, how could I have done that.  If only I could go back and have a due over.

This is not only unhealthy for you it also keeps you from being free to move forward.  We see Joseph he is not allowing to past to control him one bit.  But his brothers, all sudden remember what they have done. Now they are saying we are being punished for what we have done in the past, we sold Joe into slavery to die and know look at us.  They believed that God was punishing them for what they had done.  I’m going to tell you this, they were not being punished for what they done.  God does not punish us on this earth.  In fact what they didn’t know was what a blessing they were about to receive.  The only thing they could see was there past they were living in the past.

Let’s open our bibles to genius chapter 45 and lets read beginning with verse one.  I love this part, this whole time Joseph has been testing his brothers, he can no longer hold in all the emotions and says I am Joseph your brothers. Then he tells them to come close to him and has this to say to them. “But don’t be angry with yourselves that you did this to me, for God did it. He sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.” What a relief for the brothers, forget about living the past Joseph just released them of their past.

You see when we forgive people it one allows us to stop living in the past, and two it frees the person who wronged us to stop living in the past.  Realize that the person who wronged us may not realize what they have done or may not want that releasing and that there decision not ours.

Maybe right now you are sitting there saying that sounds really nice Scott but you have no idea what I have been through, no idea what has been done to me.  Let’s pick up our bibles and turn to John chapter eight and we will begin our reading at verse one. Let me give you a background information on what is happening here, the leaders of the church did not like Christ and what He was preaching so they thought they would try to trap Him and discredit His ministry so let us see how this plays out.

You see what happened there at the end, here is a woman who is condemned has no right to live by the law. Christ tells her I forgive you go and sin no more.   We have no right to ever not forgive someone and let go of our past.  God almighty the God who has never sinned, who came to earth and died on cross for our sins says your forgiven come follow and sin no more.

No longer living in the past part two

^10 And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. ^11 We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.”

^12 But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.”

^13 And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one ⁱis no more.”

^14 But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’ ^15 In this manner you shall be tested: ^jBy the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. ^16 Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be ³kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!” ^17 So he ⁴put them all together in prison ^kthree days.

^18 Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, ^lfor I fear God: ^19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses. ^20 And ^mbring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.”

And they did so. ^21 Then they said to one another, ⁿ“We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; ^otherefore this distress has come upon us.”

^22 And Reuben answered them, saying, ^p“Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now ^qrequired of us.” ^23 But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter. ^24 And he turned himself away from them and ^rwept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took ^sSimeon from them and bound him before their eyes.

I find this to be interesting because we know that Joseph has already forgiven his brothers, he isn’t living in the past.  So why all the games, why throw them prison?  I first believe that he’s making sure that they are his brothers, two he knows that they are not the most honest people out there.  He wants to make sure they return, and do what he tells them to do. 

Joseph is no longer living in the past, he is living in the now.  Let us not get confused about what remembering the past and living in the past is.  When I graduated college I left campus and took some great memories with me, the next year when School started up I maybe stepped foot on campus four or five times and that was to see friends who were still in school.  And the years to follow it got fewer and fewer, but one guy I went to school with couldn’t stop living in the past.  He went almost every day to campus to see people and hang, three years after we graduated he was still going to campus two to three times a week, he couldn’t let go of the past, he wanted to stay there.

While the rest of us moved forward he stayed there.  We all have pasts that may haunt us that we have been wronged by people.  Some of  us maybe put our hope and trust in a spouse and they betrayed that trust, maybe it was a parent or a close friend, maybe you were made fun of by others.  These are things that can if we allow them to control our lives, we can sit and ponder on them for hours, and instead of moving forward we are suddenly stuck in the past, we find ourselves going back and thinking if only I had done this or that.  I would be a different person if it wasn’t for so and so.

No longer living in the past part one

As we have been studying Joseph we have seen this man go through a lot, we discussed last week how He loved God. That he never went anywhere without God, and was not ashamed of or afraid to tell others about God.  He named his children names that’s praised God, Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my ^ufather’s house.” ^52 And the name of the second he called ²Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be ^vfruitful in the land of my affliction.” Today we come to a part in Josephs life where we see what happens when some old faces from the past show up. 

We see a new scene unfold in Joseph life, along with his brothers.  The Last time we heard from Joe’s brothers they were ready to kill him, but instead they sold him into slavery.  This was the last time they saw him and most likely never spoke of what they did that day.  But because of the famine they are forced to go to Egypt and get Grain. 

So here we are, the famine is getting bad for the whole world, Jacobs tells his sons stop sitting around here I have heard that there is food in Egypt go and get us some food.  So off they go, they get to Egypt and are buying their food, Joseph is taking care of all the sales of grain and they bow before him not recognizing who he is, you must remember that they think he is a slave and he would have a Egyptian head dress on.  But Joseph knows who they are right away.  We read about this encounter in Genius 42, we are coming in the middle of a conversation; Joseph has excused His brothers of being spies.

What does our giving say about us?

Sunday night I experienced something that touché d me in a way I have never been touched.  A man who came this morning and came back for the evening service, came up to me and gave some money.  When he had given it to me he said “this is all I have but I want to give it.”  I don’t know why he gave it to me and in the offering plate; I don’t think that really matters though.  What amazed me was the sincerity he had when he gave it to me.  I couldn’t help but help think of the that says “While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people putting their gifts into the collection box. ² Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two pennies.^* ³ “I assure you,” he said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. ⁴ For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”(Luke 21:1-3)  How many times do we give our offering and do not think much about it because we still have money left, yet this man give all he had at the time.  I know that he would be getting more money soon, but he gave and asked for nothing in return.  Maybe the better question is how much are we willing to sacrifice in our own lives to give to God?

The seeking of power (part two)

As we take a look at the council in Jerusalem, they felt that they deserved for the people to listen to them and follow them because of who they were.  Their education and money made them feel that they were far better than the rest of the people.  In today’s society much hasn’t changed, there are many people who feel that because they are supposedly smarter or come from the right family, that power should be handed over to them.  I have noted that some believe that certain jobs are below them, they cannot do that job because they are better than that.  They look down on the people who do such jobs, I would go as far to say that we in society may encourage such activity.  But true power doesn’t come from any these places.  In acts we see how the council is disgusted, they go as far as saying, aren’t these the same uneducated people who ran around with Christ?  The answer is yes they are and they got a far better education then you did by being taught by Christ.  Who were the people following and listing to, not the council but these men right before them these vary men were being used by God in a powerful way. 

So many times we think that God is going to use those who are extremely smart, well educated, good looking, and speak well in public.  But here we see Him using every day people, fisherman of all things.  James warns us not to show special favor to those who are wealthy in chapter two of his letter. That we are all God’s children.  It is easy for us to look at the well-dressed people and say “man God is surly going to use them.”  But the truth is God gives us all the power to be an influence to those around us.  We all have the ability to show the people around us the love of God.  For example when I’m at work I don’t see the customers I take care of as the ones that I can minister to, but how I treat them can be a ministry to my co-workers.  If the ones who are mean I treat differently and show less respect to them then what am I saying to my co-workers?  But if I treat them with the same type of respect I do the ones that are nice then, I show them that I love and treat all people the same.   Who are the people that are watching you that you can show God to?

The seeking of power (part one)

As I think about different things my mind continues to come back to this idea of power.  Men and women both are after it.  It can be as small as having the power of controlling the remote to the television or as big as being president.  When I was a junior in college one of the students wanted to be on student council I have no idea why, but he wanted that position.  He wanted it so badly that after being defeated in two different elections.  He found an old bylaw, a loophole, to get himself on council.  He was so proud of himself; the rest of us really didn’t care.  But what is about power, why do so many people seek it, and what is the source to real power.  Back in the beginning of the Church there was a group of men who were given power in Jerusalem it was not a great deal of power, the Roman government gave it to them to maintain the peace.  They were highly educated and very wealthy; their world was turned upside down by one Man.  This man’s name was Jesus; He had become a thorn in their side, so they crucified Him.  Thought that was the end of Him and those that followed Him.  But they were wrong, you see about three months after He had risen from the dead, His followers where out preaching and praying.  They had happen to heal a man who had never walked in his life, more than 2000 came to join the church that day (Acts 3)

The council then called these two men, Peter and James to meet with them.   They asked them, “where did you get this power?”  When they were told that the power they had, came from Christ it upset them deeply.  But what was even more upsetting to them was the fact that these men who were uneducated and where able to influence so many people.  You see they thought themselves to be better than others because of their family and education.  They felt a sense of entitlement to power.  I think that we sometimes feel that we are entitled to power.  That people just owe it to us, that we are better then they are.   Truth be told I have noticed that God doesn’t use those we would expect Him to use He uses those that are humble and not looking for power.  He desires those that will seek Him out.  I hope to in the next few blogs dig a little deeper into the areas of power we seek out and how that affects are relationship with God. 

I'm only pointing out the obvious

In this life we live it is easy for us to start looking around and seeing what others are doing wrong.  It is easy for us to sit around our living rooms and discuss how Joe is wrong in what he’s doing and needs get his act together or else.  But the reality is that we as Christians or followers of Christ whichever term you prefer are not supposed to Judge others.  It is not our duty to sit or stand around and figure out what others are doing wrong.  What is wrong with judging others, I mean after all I can then help them overcome their sin problem right? Sounds good helps boost our ego but it is wrong.  Christ said, “Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. ² For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?  How can you think of saying, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1-5)

So why does Christ warn against judging others, because He wants us to be focused on us.  If we are going to busy Judging others then we are going miss what is wrong in our lives.  It’s easy to see what is wrong in other people’s lives, we love to see what’s wrong because it makes us feel better about ourselves.  The problem is, that is a false sense of security, according to Christ we to are going be judged by the same standers we use on others.  When we start judging others and talk about it, it ends up being gossip; and gossip is a sin. We sometimes like to say we aren’t judging we are just pointing out the obvious and trying to get them truly saved, that is not our place.  What is our place then?  It is our place to teach others about who Christ is and what God expects out us.  When a church member is committing a sin then the church must take action.  But never mistake that action as being a license to judge.  It is our job to make sure we are living our lives for Christ and creating an atmosphere around us that cultivates a growing relationship with Christ and those around us.  If we fall into the trap of judging others we end up distancing ourselves from Christ and pushing others away from the church. 

Being Comfortable

I was reading an article this morning on Texas Governor Rick Perry and his thoughts on running for President.  You would think that it would be the dream of all politicians to be the President but it is not the case with Gov. Perry. He was quoted as saying he’s “getting more and more comfortable every day that this is what I've been called to do. This is what America needs.”   I thought to myself isn’t this what we all have to do in life we have to become comfortable with what God has called or not called us to do.  Some people have been called to the ministry and even though some may think that all Christians dream of being a pastor it is not the case.  I myself had to become comfortable with what God called me to do.  Many may think that all Christians, want to go out talk to as many people as possible about who God is and how they need saved, sorry to disappoint but that’s not true.  But there is something in all of all lives as Christians have been called to do and that is live for God.  We have to be able to show the world who God is through how we treat each other and those around us.  You may say the ones around me the most are my kids, then show your kids Gods love.  Maybe the ones your around a lot are your co-workers then show them God through your work ethic and taking time to listen to them.  We need to work on being comfortable with showing people the Love of God.  I think of Isaiah when he was called his words where “My destruction is sealed, for I am a sinful man and a member of a sinful race. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord Almighty!” (Is 6:5)   I don’t think that Isaiah was thinking I am going to be called to and be prophet for God, or that he was even comfortable with it.  But when asked who will go he yes, in life we have to do things that make us uncomfortable.  We must become comfortable with who God has Called us to be in our life.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/07/17/perry-more-and-more-comfortable-with-idea-presidential-run/#ixzz1SSZAkivj

The dangers of being Self centered

As I’m sitting here reflecting on this morning talk as we talked about Joseph and his brothers self-centeredness, and how we must put God first, then others,and then ourselves.  I realize that it is human nature to be centered on ourselves, but Christ taught us to think of others before ourselves.  To sacrifice our wants and needs so that others can see Him through us.  I think back onto a time in my life when I was focused on me, the plans I had made were not going as planned.  I told God I had done everything correct so way wasn’t He living up to His part.  I’m ashamed to say that, but it was what I thought at the time.  If I had been thinking the correct way then I would have remembered we are told our reward is not on this earth but in heaven, God doesn’t serve us He created us.  Yet Christ who created us came down from heaven and sacrificed His life on a cross for us.  He never once played the, I’m better then you card, so why do we think we have the right to play that card.  Why do we think that God owes us anything at all?  The truth is when we focus on ourselves those around us who need us the most are the ones who lose.  As I thought back to this dark time in my life I remember one thing that haunts me to this day.  A dear and close friend who needed my help didn’t get it because I was too focused on myself.  To many times I think what if I had been there for her?  I tell you the truth I am not perfect but I never want to get to the point again where I think I deserve something just because I follow and obey my creator.

What is real Fellowship?

Sunday night we talked about what happened after the day of Pentecost one of the things that happened was fellowship.  For those of you who haven’t grown up in the church fellowship is just a fancy word for people getting together.  But one of the things we talked about was how when they got together it was more than just cookies and coffee.  ^“They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord’s Supper and in prayer”, “They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved” (Acts 2:42’46-47 NLT).  What is so amazing here it says that this happened daily not monthly or once a week.  They went to church and then went to each other’s homes.  They ate and prayed together.   My closest friends are the people I went to college with and I don’t even see on a regular basis.  But these are the people that for almost four years of my life I lived with, I ate almost every dinner with them and prayed with them, laughed with them, cried with them.  I wonder what would happen to our churches today if we started to actively invite people over to eat with us after church.  I understanding that we live busy lives wonder what would happen if we started working towards true fellowship in the Church.  Christ’s most powerful words to his friends came at a supper table,  “ Then he took a cup of wine, and when he had given thanks for it, he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.”  Then he took a loaf of bread; and when he had thanked God for it, he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”  After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This wine is the token of God’s new covenant to save you—an agreement sealed with the blood I will pour out for you.” (Luke 22:16-20)

I wonder what would happen if

I was just thinking, tonight at the church I pastor we meet for prayer meeting, sadly this is our lowest attended service.  I think to what Jesus said in Matthew after tossing and turning over the tables in the temple.  “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a place of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”(MT 21:13 NLT)  I wonder what we have made the church into today, can we really call it a place of prayer.  I remember the church I attended in my youth had a prayer room; it was a really nice one at that.  I think at one time people actually went and prayed in it during the church services.  I wonder if it even gets used anymore?  I have trouble believing it when people tell me they have trouble praying for over five minutes.  I know that I pastor a small church but we have a lot of prayer requests on Sundays, more than five minutes worth.  I wonder how many lives would be changed if we once again made the church a house of prayer, or if we would even begin to make our homes into homes of prayers? 

Recap on Sundays AM talk

Today we talked about how Jacob was a passive father; we discussed how that damaged his family.  We cannot be passive followers of Christ we must be passionate about our love for God.  It is through the love we have for God that is going to dictate how we live.  If we love God and want to please him then we are going to show it through our actions.  I was thinking of the guy that is passive when it comes to asking a girl out on a date that guy is never going to get a date he is always just going to wait around and while he is waiting the other guy is going to get the date.  So many Christians are doing just that, they are watching for the right time to talk to people about Christ and the reason they live for him but while they wait the world comes in and tells how they need to think and live. 

                        In 1^st Timothy Paul tells young Timothy’ “¹⁸ Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they give you the confidence to fight well in the Lord’s battles. ¹⁹ Cling tightly to your faith in Christ, and always keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. ²⁰ Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples of this. I turned them over to Satan so they would learn not to blaspheme God.”  Paul is telling Timothy stay strong remember who your God is, live a life that does not bring shame to God.  Make certain that you are actively sharing the love of God.  Do not go out and start preaching a gospel that only helps you.  Just like today, back then there were people who instead of preaching the grace and love of God, were preaching on things that were not even found in the bible.  Today we have church’s teaching that woman can only wear certain types of cloths and we can’t have televisions, or go to the movies.  They are so busy making up fake laws that they no longer teach what the word of God says.

            On the other hand we have churches that are teaching that we do not need to worry about sin, that God only created hell only for the demons.  We are all going to make it heaven, which is simply wrong.  Paul is telling Timothy do not just sit ideally by and let these men teach false teachings. Stand on your faith and go out teach the truth. He continues to tell Timothy in chapter 2, “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. As you make your requests, plead for God’s mercy upon them, and give thanks. ² Pray this way for kings and all others who are in authority, so that we can live in peace and quietness, in godliness and dignity. ³ This is good and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ for he wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. ⁵ For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and people. He is the man Christ Jesus. ⁶ He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message that God gave to the world at the proper time. ⁷ And I have been chosen—this is the absolute truth—as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles about faith and truth.

⁸ So wherever you assemble, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy. ⁹ And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. ¹⁰ For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do.”  We as Christians must take action through prayer to God then go and teach other who God is.  God does not want just a few people saved he wants everyone saved.  To fully understand this piece of scripture we must first understand the culture in Ephesus.  Ephesus was a city with many false gods, they worshipped all kinds of gods and there were all kinds of cults and occult activity going on.  The people however started getting saved and the gospel spread like fire.  The main problem being that the newly saved people didn’t know how to worship, so they started bringing in there style of worship into the church.  Paul is telling Timothy stand and tell them they must stop this and worship God through prayer and teaching others who God is.  Paul tells them that they need to focus on God, not on bringing attention to themselves.  We cannot be passive in our faith to God we must start sharing with others about who God is and about our faith in God.  We must start actively looking for people who are looking and searching for God.

Sorry

Sorry, I started this blog with every intent to keep it up with at least one weekly blog, that didn’t happen.  So starting this week I’m going to try to do better I have at one  blog in the works and anther in my head. 

The purpose

Just wanted to let you know the purpose of my starting a blog.  First is to be able to talk about what we are doing at the Church of Good Hope in Lancaster.  Second to be able to talk about in more detail on my Sunday morning talks and Sunday Night Live talks.  Third for those who do not attend Lancaster Church of Good hope but would like to pray for the church and you can see what we are doing and know better how to pray for the church.