One Pastor's Perspective

Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!! Remember THAT old ditty! The moral of that story is DO NOT LIE. Any time we lie, we WILL get tangled up in it.

But there are other tangled webs we encounter in life:

Communication: If we do not communicate with those around us, especially those we love, those we depend on, and those we serve, WE WILL GET INTO A HEAP OF TROUBLE!! We cannot allow pride or prejudice to get in the way of our communication.

Addiction: Addiction drives far too many people to do things they would have never dreamed. It is a horrible existence that causes all kinds of complication in life. The greatest complication is the self-deception it causes . . . It kills families, communities, churches, and people!

Idol-worship: ANY TIME we put ANYTHING AHEAD of GOD in our lives, there will be great pain, complication, emptiness, and failure. PERIOD.

Self-focus: WHOA IS ME!! Anytime we are so focused on ourselves that we do not see the world around us, the same calamity from above awaits us. Our focus and priorities should be GOD FIRST, and He will set the list for the rest!

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Any time we are focused on, or worshiping ANYTHING other than God, we can expect great trouble and our lives become a tangled mess!!

Just when you thought it was safe to LIKE an actor, they have to open their big mouths and prove themselves idiots. The lastest in this long moron parade is Anne Hathaway, an ardent supporter of Barack Obama, but not a fan of Rick Warren.

Apparently, she and her father will be attend the inauguration and they will protest Rick Warren’s presence. An AP interview reveals that her brother is gay, and therefore she is opposed to Warren’s presence. (Consequently, Warren clearly stated that he does not hate homosexuals, but is opposed to SIN)

Brings me to an interesting observation: Christians are accused of being closed-minded bigots, but HOLLYWOOD actually treats US that way!! If a Christian refused or protested the presence of ANYONE at that inauguration, we would be barbequed in the public eye. But every idiot in Hollywood can disrespect ANY Christian and it is perfectly acceptable.

In other words, we are one of the few groups in America that does NOT have the right to freedom of religion and speech. Hmmm . . . Not what our forefathers envisioned.

I am not the only one that thinks the NCAA should move to a playoff system. That being said, I don’t think anyone can deny Florida the national championship after last night. Two high-powered offenses led by high flying quarterbacks. And one rose to the top. Ironic that he was second runner up to the other for the Heisman.

I thought Tebow deserved the Heisman again this year. When it comes to all -around toughness and hard-hitting football, Tim Tebow is head and shoulders above the rest. And, last night he proved it. WITH JOHN 3:16 WRITTEN IN HIS EYEBLACK!!

He is the man! And he was NOT the only one on the field in a Florida uniform last night. They all played well and did it as a team.

Hats off to you, Gators!

There once was a rich man who was near death. He was very grieved because he had worked so hard for his money and he wanted to be able to take it with him to heaven. So he began to pray that he might be able to take some of his wealth with him.

An angel hears his plea and appears to him, “Sorry, but you can’t take your wealth with you.”

The man implores the angel to speak to God to see if He might bend the rules.

The man continues to pray that his wealth could follow him. The angel reappears and informs the man that God has decided to allow him to take one suitcase with him. Overjoyed, the man gathers his largest suitcase and fills it with pure gold bars and places it beside his bed.

Soon afterward the man dies and shows up at the Gates of Heaven to greet St. Peter. Seeing the suitcase Peter says, “Hold on, you can’t bring that in here!”But the man explains to him that he has permission and asks him to verify his story with the Lord. Sure enough,. Peter checks and comes back saying, “You’re right. You are allowed one carry-on bag, but I’m supposed to check its contents before letting it through.”

Peter opens the suitcase to inspect the worldly items that the man found too precious to leave behind and exclaims, “You brought pavement?!?!”

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I like to go early in the morning. Not as many folks there right now as there will be in an hour. Maybe I have to go before my brain figures out what I am doing. But, I go.

As a matter of fact, I need to leave right now to be able to get back and do all the things I have to do this morning. So if you wonder why I wrote so little this morning, blame the YMCA!!

The question came up in Deacon’s meeting this past Sunday: Could we have a revival?? And I ask, COULD WE???

The first establishment in this blog is the use of the word REVIVAL: We traditionally use it to mean a series of meetings with a guest speaker to fire things up in a local church. But THAT IS NOT REVIVAL. We DO need to plan a revival meeting, but that is something the church traditionally does FOR THE LOST IN THEIR COMMUNITY. And, for it to work, revival must ALREADY be alive and burning in the church!!

So, how do we “get revived??” Church, we need to pray EVERYDAY for it. If Ebenezer were to have a revival, starting in the HEARTS OF THE MEMBERS, drawing each of us CLOSER to God, He would do things far beyond explanation and we would be AMAZED. Revival is NOT a series of meetings . . . Revival is a state of OUR HEARTS, returning to God and walking with Him. And when I look at over 500 people worship on Sunday mornings, and around TWENTY-FIVE on Sunday nights, I KNOW we are a church in need of revival.

And, it MUST START from the top. I am praying for it!! How about the leaders?? Will YOU pray for it?? How about the deacons? Will YOU pray for it? Will you be bold enough to ask God for revival IN YOUR HEART?

If we do this, God WILL ignite the fires in our hearts. And having a revival meeting will be a natural, NOT because of the nostalgia of wanting a revival meeting, but because WE HAVE TO TELL THE WORLD THAT JESUS CHRIST LOVES THEM!!!

But, we will HAVE TO BE WILLING TO WORK FOR IT!!! My question for all is: ARE YOU WILLING???

MAN . . . We need REVIVAL.

Yes, today is the day . . . The kids go back to school. The daily schedule gets more into a normal groove. As much as I love Christmas and the holidays, I am glad. Being a creature of habit, I love “normal.”

HOWEVER, 2009 has the potential of being anything BUT a normal year. In many ways, ways that all of us know so I don’t even need to list them, we begin this year in a difficult spot. Waiting. Watching. Hoping things will turn around, not only for us but for the entire world. We really are a world looking for a little hope. Looking for someone to turn it around. Looking for a Savior.

Now, THAT sounds like a sermon. Get it??

The FBI had an opening for an assassin. After all the background checks, interviews and testing were done, there were 3 finalists; two men and a woman.

For the final test, the FBI agents took one of the men to a large metal door and handed him a gun. “We must know that you will follow your instructions no matter what the circumstances. Inside the room you will find your wife sitting in a chair. Kill her!” The man said, “You can’t be serious. I could never shoot my wife.” The agent said, “Then you’re not the right man for this job. Take your wife and go home.”

The second man was given the same instructions. He took the gun and went into the room. All was quiet for about 5 minutes. The man came out with tears in his eyes saying, “I tried, but I can’t kill my wife.” The agent said, “You don’t have what it takes. Take your wife and go home.”

Finally, it was the woman’s turn. She was given the same instructions, to kill her husband. She took the gun and went into the room. Shots were heard, one after another. They heard screaming, crashing, and banging on the walls.

After a few minutes, all was quiet. The door opened slowly and there stood the woman, wiping the sweat from her brow. “This gun is loaded with blanks,” she said. “I had to beat him to death with the chair.”

The moral of this?? DON’T MESS WITH A WOMAN.