One of those places

13 Feb

You know it is easy to talk about the promises of God and study the truths of God for me.  It is something I not only study on a regular basis, but I also witness His strength and miracles in the lives of others on a weekly basis.  I am thankful for that.

However, this post is a confession.  There are times in my life when I step into one of THOSE places where I must completely trust Him and His plan, and I must relinquish all control of situations and allow Him to handle them.  And today I must confess that this can be difficult for me, too!

GASP!!!  The PASTOR has trouble with this?????

Well, I AM human … And I am in one of those places with SEVERAL things in my personal and professional life.  But I am trying … And when I fail, the best thing to do is ask for His forgiveness and get back on the horse.  So that is what I’ll do!!

In the words of Michael W. Smith, “Pray for me.  And I’ll pray for you!!”

A Mystery

11 Feb

You’ve got to love a mystery!!  I can almost see Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby Doo pulling up in their green van right now …  But this is not THAT kind of mystery.  It is a good mystery, and one on which we can depend!!

There are mysteries in God’s word, in the history of His interaction with His people, and mysteries in His very nature.  That we DO NOT understand.  And that is OKAY!!!

Yesterday we brushed by one of them while in Genesis 6.  Who were the Sons of God, the Daughters of Men, and the Nephilim?  I am NOT blogging to answer and talk about the THREE prominent theories.  Those kinds of things are fun to talk about and think about, but none of them change the result:  The earth was in a state of growing sin, walking farther and farther away from God.  That is why God chose to flood the earth!!

As much as I like to understand EVERYTHING, I’ve come to this conclusion that really helps me:  There IS a God, and I am NOT Him!!  And it is okay for me not to understand EVERYTHING about Him.  After all, if I could define God and draw His specifications on a blue print, would He really be God??  The mysteries of God are absolutely real and it really is OKAY for us to have FAITH because if He really IS GOD, we WILL NOT understand everything about Him.

Perhaps the greatest mystery is WHY DID HE LOVE US SO MUCH THAT HE SENT HIS SON??  I really don’t know the answer, but I am so glad He did!!

He is real, He is alive, and I am forgiven by His grace.  Thank God for His mysteries!!

Today’s sermon: Serving without Swerving

10 Feb

Serving without Swerving from Ebenezer BC on Vimeo.

The ONLY thing you can control …

4 Feb

Over the past week or so I’ve encountered several events in my life that point back to the same theme.  It’s something I’ve been thinking about for quite a while … And, although it might be easy to think about and even write, I, too, struggle with what I am about to tell you:

Life is like a box of chocolates:  You NEVER know what you are gonna get.  (OK, many thanks to my mentor, Forrest Gump, for that line.)   Life is FILLED with good and bad.  Situations for which you are thankful, and situations you’d rather not experience.  You will prosper … you will make mistakes … life is LIFE.  None of us is perfect and we will all ride the roller coaster up and down.

You (and I) CANNOT CONTROL other people.  You cannot control when others are rude, mean, greedy, crooked, selfish, hateful, this list can go on and on … The bottom line is, you cannot control how others treat you.

You CANNOT CONTROL the situations you face in life.  Many of these are the imperfections ALL of us face and we ALL must struggle through them.  Disease, financial ruin, accidents … they ALL happen.

There are SO MANY THINGS in life you CANNOT CONTROL that I will stop here.  I think you get the picture.  But there is ONE THING you CAN CONTROL:  HOW YOU RESPOND TO THEM.  YOU can control YOUR attitude.  And YES, your level of happiness in life is directly related to HOW YOU RESPOND to these things.

And the BEST RESPONSE???  TRUST IT ALL TO GOD!!  Share your life with God the Father.  Allow Christ to carry you in the valleys.  Allow the Holy Spirit to empower you and pull you through!!!!  He has walked through the TOUGHEST that life has to offer … and He will walk WITH YOU through the same!!!

Proverbs 3:5-6 (The Message)  Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.  Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track.

 

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Today’s sermon: Reverse

3 Feb

Reverse from Ebenezer BC on Vimeo.

Hey Dad!! They’re watching …

31 Jan

Yes, I’m calling ALL dads out.  Again.  I wish all of you could’ve heard Chris Wells last Thursday.  He welcomed all to our Wild Game Supper, but made no bones about the fact that he was talking to men as he preached.  Why??

Dad, if YOU lead your family to the throne, the chances of your children doing the same is very high.  Over 80%.  Now, when I write “lead them to the throne” I mean more than just coming to church or bringing them and coming back to pick them up.  In fact, going to church is only a PART of leading them to His throne.  When I write this, I mean you take seriously your relationship with Christ.  You live by faith and not by sight.  And NOT that you brainwash your kids to do this (because that would do them NO GOOD AT ALL), but that you show them by how you live your life that God is real and His promises are true.  Because they ARE watching.

Due to the vast number of funerals we’ve had at Ebenezer and for family members of those who attend Ebenezer, I am reminded that there will be a day when people will gather around a casket and view my remains.  Hopefully that day is FAR, FAR away.  But still, it will happen.  And I wonder what they will say about me??  Not that I desire accolades, but everyone wants to be remembered as someone who treated people well.  But what I am really concerned with is how my children will remember me.  How my wife will remember me.  They know me far better than anyone else.  Do they see the reality of the power of God in my life???

If they don’t, I am not doing my job.  NOT AS A PASTOR, but as a husband and a dad.

Hey Dad!!  They really are watching … What do they see?

A very pracitical thought for Ebenezer

30 Jan

There is a strategic purpose for this blog entry.  It applies to Ebenezerites and really ANYONE who is involved in some type of pastor search, so if this applies to you, read on!!

As our search continues (and we ARE making progress), there will come a day and time when the Personnel Team at EBC will present to the church a candidate for our vacancy in Student Ministry.  HOWEVER, with the advent of Twitter and Facebook, the rules have changed somewhat and we need to respect them!

When we DO have a candidate to consider, we certainly need to pray for that one but also respect where they are in life.  Whether leaving a ministry or another profession, we need to respect their privacy and allow them to make that departure on THEIR terms.  This means we need to keep that candidate’s name off of social media until a time when we know it is okay to do otherwise.  Then, WELCOME and LOVE that person with all of the social media you want!!!

Nothing could be more devastating to a candidate than to have such a decision made public in a manner that is inconsiderate of the feelings of those he might leave behind.  We know from experience that it hurts to lose a family member, and we want to make any transition as easy and smooth as possible.

We don’t have a name for you next week (or anything like that), but this is something we all need to start thinking on.  Hope you have a great week!!!

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Decisions ahead… Who will make them??

28 Jan

We had a great quarterly business meeting last night at Ebenezer.  (Has ANY pastor EVER blogged that before??)  And I am quite serious!!  There was some good discussion about where our Weekday Ministry is headed, and where the church is headed, too!!

We started the HOW Campaign in late 2008… Just about a month before the economy took a major dive in the United States.  And yet, our church was faithful.  We built the Youth Assembly Building, pushing it ahead of the Sanctuary and addition education space because the need was great.  Architects worked hard with our New Facilities team to create a plan.  Many people worked HARD for hours.  And there we were, with thorough sanctuary blue prints, money slowly coming in, waiting on a decision… And waiting … and waiting.

Some people have looked to me to press the button:  I will do that as soon as God tells me to!  But He hasn’t.  And I had no idea why until a few months ago!!

I’ve been a firm believer that He sets the time table and He says when and He says what!!  And here we are:  The greatest need before us right now is educational space, both for our Sunday School AND for our Weekday Ministry.  And when I look at where God is at work in Ebenezer, He is definitely at work in our Weekday, where many people (both churched and unchurched) are lining up around the block to get their children a spot in our kindergarten/day care.  And these people are paying us money to tell their children about Jesus!!!  And for some of these, this will be the only connection to a church they will have!!!  So we get this awesome opportunity to tell them about Christ and BE the church to them!!

Bottom line is this:  We have BIG decisions ahead.  WHO WILL MAKE THEM??  Will WE??  Or will God??  When I look at what is happening here, I see the great need of more space AND almost enough money in the bank RIGHT NOW to meet that need AND to invest in the Family Life Center as a possible temporary worship location!!  But, this decision is not really mine to make.  And it is not really yours.  It belongs to God!!

Pray and seek His will for all of this!!  If we come together and ask Him, HE WILL ANSWER!!

Today’s sermon

27 Jan

The Prominence of Stuff from Ebenezer BC on Vimeo.

On a roll …

21 Jan

As far as the sermon topics so far this year go, God is on a roll.  And we are exploring holy living at Ebenezer.  This Thursday there will be yet another chapter of what He has in store for us on 2013 as we have our Annual Wild Game Supper.  The food will be good, the props will be great, and Chris Wells will be our guest speaker.  Chris is a pro-fisherman and chaplain to his fellow pros!!  He is also an evangelist who specializes in challenging men like us with … guess what … living for Christ.  I can’t wait to hear what God has in store for us this week!!

But, we don’t have to wait for Thursday to have an encounter with God.  You can encounter Him EVERY DAY if you look for where He is at work and join Him.  I’m praying we will ALL find Him at work today and do just that!!

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