I Need Help

I went to lunch today. At the moment I walked in the individual working was already complaining to a customer.

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She was hurried and rude as she took my order. She told the woman in front of me; “We just opened so you’ll have to wait for ice”. A gentleman came in after me and she yelled; “I’m all alone back here, it’s going to be a while”. Several minutes later a young man walked in and she yelled; “Oh no, we’ve had too many customers. Either you’ll have to wait or the food is going to suffer”.

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It wasn’t until later, when a co-worker came in that I came to understand that she was upset because she was there all alone. 

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I don’t share this to complain but, instead, to share a thought.

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Do we sometimes complain those we are called to serve because we are feeling overwhelmed? Do we sometimes hurry and rush those that we are called to share with because we feel overburdened? Do we sometimes yell at those that we are called to help rather than taking our needs to the one that can come along side us and give us peace and lift our burdens? 

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If you are feeling overwhelmed or overburdened today, God cares and can help. Perhaps He is simply waiting for you to call out to Him for assistance.

Bible Study: Welcome the Stranger

We will not have our regular Wednesday afternoon Bible Study this week. However, I invite you to read through the following Scriptures - considering Jesus.

"Welcome the Stranger"

Isaiah 53:3, 5; He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Pray - Think - Reflect

• Exodus 23:1-9

• Genesis 19:1-13

• Psalm 121

• Jeremiah 7:1-7

• Luke 9:51-58

• Matthew 25:31-46

If you live in the Robinson, Illinois area, I invite you to join us on Wednesday, January 7th, at 11:00 am as we read and study God's Word for our lives - applying it in a practical way.

 

Daily Tasks

There are several tasks that I (try to) do every day. Some of these tasks are simple, others are more involved. Some of these tasks take only a moment or two, others are more drawn out. 

The most important - and most contemplative - task that I (try to) do every day is in regard to my time of prayer and a time of questioning. 

Every day I (try to) have three times of prayer; in the morning, at noon, and of an evening. In the morning my prayer focuses on me and my plea is "God, help me love You". At noon my prayer focuses on The Church and my plea is "God, help me love Your Church". Of an evening my prayer focuses on my family and my plea is "God, help me to love my family". 

The order of these prayers - to me - are important. If my day does not begin with the plea for God to help me love Him - and if I do not have a pure and true love for Him - the rest of my day is useless. At noon I focus on The Church - including my family, all those in our local church and those that our local church can minister to, and all those in The Church (worldwide) and those that The Church can witness to - because this is the point in the day when I am most focused on my calling as a pastor. Of an evening I focus on my family - my wife, my marriage, and my children - because this is the point in the day when I am most focused on my calling as a husband and a father. 

Every day I (try to) end my day asking - and mentally answering - three questions; (1) How did you prepare for the moment you will stand before God and answer to Him? (2) How did you prepare your family for the moment they will stand before God and answer to Him? (3) How did you prepare others for the moment they will stand before God and answer to Him?

I believe that the purpose of my life is to prepare - myself and others - for the moment that we stand before God and answer to Him and therefore I believe it is necessary to ask - and contemplate - these questions. Some days these questions bring to my mind exciting conversations and thoughts of development from the day. Other days I am met with discouragement and thoughts of failure to lead as I should. Yet - to me - this is a very important daily task. 

So, what is your purpose and how are you fulfilling it? Perhaps God has called you to a specific job. Are you doing it with all of your heart? Perhaps God has gifted you with talents or influence. Are you using them to your greatest ability? Perhaps God has trusted you with great resources or money. Are you being a good steward? Perhaps God has blessed you with family, friends, and relationships. Are you being the witness that You should be. 

Whatever your purpose is. Identify it and live it out. Only you can serve this mission that God has created you for and called you to. 

Fill The Dog Bowl

I do not like our dog. Those close to me know just how I feel about this dog that runs throughout our home. I refer to this dog as my wife's because it was her gift shortly after we were married and I have never had an affectionate (or even warm) feelings about this dog. 

The other day I noticed that the dog's water bowl was low and I thought twice about filling it for her. But, it struck me that if I did not fill her bowl my wife would have to. So I decided to fill the dog's water bowl not because I cared for her so much but because I love my wife. 

The same principle applies in the church. Often we hear people claim that they have "left the church" or that - due to disagreements or struggles - they are reluctant to serve the church. The reality is that these people are not so much hurting the leaders and others within the church as they are hurting God and the thing He cares about the most - that is His Church. 

The next time hardships or trials present themselves in your church or within your church family, make an effort to consider who will truly suffer from your reluctance to serve.

To be a follower of Jesus'...

John 13:1-3 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;

Understanding what “Jesus knew” is essential to understanding what Jesus did!

Jesus knew:

• The time of His Father had come (vs. 1)
• He would “leave” the world (vs. 1)
• He would return to His Father (vs. 1)
• His Father had put all things under His power (vs. 3)
• He came from God (vs. 3)
• He was returning to God (vs. 3)

John 13:4-5 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

Jesus' activity:

• He got up (vs. 4)
• He took off His outer clothes (vs. 4)
• He wrapped a towel around His waist (vs. 4)
• He washed their feet (vs. 5)

As followers of Jesus, we too must:

• Get up
  • Get up from our place of honor
  • Get up from our attitudes of pride
  • Get rid of our illusion that this is in any way about us
• Take off the bib
  • We've had enough to eat
  • We've been fed long enough – most of us
• Put on an apron
  • This is going to be dirty – perhaps humiliating
  • This is going to be time consuming
  • This is going to require something from you
• Wash feet
  • It's time to lend a hand and serve
  • It's time to use the gifts God has given you
  • It's time follow the example set by Jesus
  • It's time to be a true follower – a disciple – of Jesus'

To be a follower of Jesus you must become a servant.

Picture it, Jesus is down on His knees before His disciples;

• Creator of the universe wiping away the mud that He created
• Living Water poured out on the feet of the people
• King of Kings lowered to the floor
• The God of glory serving a sinful people

It is important to note that Jesus even washed the feet of Judas – who He knew would betray Him.

John 13:11 For he knew who was going to betray him

What does this tell us about our call to serve as followers of Jesus'?

To be a follower of Jesus you must become a servant.

Families Serve Together

I don't see my parents as much as I'd like to and I don't call them as much as I need to. My parents live a couple hours away and although I don't live at their house, my parents have some expectations when I go to their home. One of which is that I lend a hand – that I help out.

Imagine going to your parents house and sitting down at the table; 

• “Bring me the cereal, Mom!”
• “Dad, get me a bowl!”
• “I can't eat this without some milk!”
• “Grab me a spoon while you're up too!”

What would happen if you walked into a family member's house and sat down in the living room and stated “I need a glass of ice water”? In most cases I imagine they would point you to the kitchen to GET IT YOURSELF! And why is that? Because you're family! And family members work together.

Easter was the last time we were at my parents house. We walked in, received a warm greeting and, soon after, a job that needed to be done in preparation for the meal. 

• There was a ham to be sliced
• A table that needed to be set
• Several chairs that had to be moved
• And so much more

Picture me walking over to the couch and laying down for a nap. “Just wake me up when lunch is ready.” That wouldn't fly!

But, this is the way many folks act in The Church. And they don't feel like they fit in or belong. In most cases it is because they aren't taking an active roll in serving

• See, Families serve together
• And, God's family is called to serve together too

In my parent's house – if I were to lay down on the couch and demand dinner brought to me when it's ready I would be met with a stern wake up call from my dad. Yet many people in the church have gotten away with not serving because no one has given you that stern wake up call that they need.   

Everyday We Face The Choice

"then CHOOSE for yourselves this day whom you will serve...as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

Joshua 24:15

Everyday we face a choice. 

Everyday we face the choice if will serve The Almighty God; The One that has created the heavens and the earth.

Everyday we face the choice if will serve The Almighty God; The One that sustains life and provides for His creation. 

Everyday we face the choice if will serve The Almighty God; The One that loves us and desires a relationship with us.

Everyday we face the choice if will serve The Almighty God; The One that has a purpose and a plan for your life. 

Everyday we face the choice if will serve The Almighty God; The One that hears the calls and cries of the ones He loves.

Everyday we face the choice if will serve The Almighty God; The One that answers our every need according to His good will.

Everyday we face the choice if will serve The Almighty God; The One that came down from His throne in glory and lived among us.

Everyday we face the choice if will serve The Almighty God; The One that has felt the same trials and temptations as you have.

Everyday we face the choice if will serve The Almighty God; The One that died on a Roman cross to redeem us from our sinfulness.

Everyday we face the choice if will serve The Almighty God; The One that rose from a grave to restore His relationship with us.

Everyday we face the choice if will serve The Almighty God; The One that has gone to heaven to prepare an eternal place for each of us.

Everyday we face a choice. 

On this choice rests your current reality.

On this choice rests your life.

On this choice rests your peace.

On this choice rests your joy.

On this choice rests your strength.

On this choice rests your hope.

On this choice rests your salvation.

On this choice rests your everything. 

Everyday we face a choice.

What will your choice be?

O Lord, who else or what else can I desire but You

The following is from A Cry for Mercy by Henri J.M. Nouwen. 

O Lord, who else or what else can I desire but you? You are my Lord, Lord of my heart, mind, and soul. You know me through and through. In and through you everything that is finds its origin and goal. You embrace all that exists and care for it with divine love and compassion. Why, then, do I keep expecting happiness and satisfaction outside of you? Why do I keep relating to you as one of my many relationships, instead of my only relationship, in which all other ones are grounded? Why do I keep looking for popularity, respect from others, success, acclaim, and sensual pleasures? Why, Lord, is it so hard for me to make you the only one? Why do I keep hesitating to surrender myself totally to you?

Help me, O Lord, to let my old self die, to let die the thousand big and small ways in which I am still building up my false self and trying to cling to my false desires. Let me be reborn in you and see through you the world in the right way, so that all my actions, words, and thought can become a hymn of praise to you.

I need your loving grace to travel on the hard road that leads to the death of my old self and to a new life in and for you. I know and trust that this is the road to freedom.

Lord, dispel my mistrust and help be become a trusting friend.

Pentecost Sunday

Today is Pentecost Sunday, a special day in the life of The Church. It was on Pentecost Sunday (40 days after Jesus' resurrection, and 10 days after His ascension) that the Holy Spirit of God came to rest on and in believers. The account of this day can be read about in Acts 2:1-4 (and 5-41);

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

The men that were gathered int he upper room on the day of Pentecost were gathered, waiting and praying. We see that throughout the Bible, especially the New Testament, powerful things happened when believers gathered together to pray. As Rev. Jim Cybala says, "when God's people pray things happen". And, on this particular Sunday, some 2,000 years ago, when God's people prayed His Spirit moved upon them. But, these men weren't simply praying for their needs or for themselves, these men were praying for God's Spirit to move. 

In order to better grasp this, it is important that we look back to Acts 1, to Jesus last words on this earth, and to His direct instructions to His disciples. 

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

The men that were gathered in the upper room on this particular Sunday were waiting just as Jesus had told them to. And, as these men waited, they prayed. They were praying for this gift that Jesus had promised to them as He spoke His final words. They were praying for the baptism of  the Holy Spirit that Jesus had told them about. And, they were praying for the power (more literally the strength or the ability) to carry out the mission and the ministry that Jesus had called them to. 

On this Pentecost Sunday we, as faithful believers, need to pray as well. We need to pray that this gift that Christ has promised us would be made real to us. We need to pray that the baptism of the Holy Spirit would come over us. And, we need to pray for the power (the strength and the ability) to carry out our mission and Christ's ministry would be granted to us.

Without the Holy Spirit nothing makes sense. Without the baptism of the Holy Spirit we do not have the gifts to carry out the ministry of Jesus. Without the power of the holy Spirit we do not have the power to achieve the mission of Christ. And without prayer we will not be given any of these!

The Unnoticed Servants

This is a great picture of the kids, taken yesterday as we finished up our "nature hike" at the forest preserve near our home.

It's difficult to get a good picture of our kids, this is because they are four and two and when one is in the mood for a picture, the other is not, when one decides to smile, the other decides to act like a fool, when one decides to look at the camera, the other seems to be in their own world. You get the picture, no pun intended.

But, this is a good, quality picture of the kids and I am proud to say that I am the one that captured them in this moment of good behavior, stillness, focus, and smiles.

But I can't take all of the credit.

You see, or rather, you don't see, my wife Kim is really the one that should get the credit for this wonderful picture of our kids. While I knelt down to snap this photo she was galloping around behind me pretending to ride a horse while making all of the actions and noises that go along with it. She is really the one that made this photo a success.

This week we are speaking on the topic of service, serving God, serving the church, serving the community, and serving the world. As I think about this picture and about service, it occurs to me that there are so many that work behind the scenes, making the events, programs, and ministries not only possible but making them a success. So many of these servants don't ever get the recognition or the credit that they deserve and so many never desire it. 

A special word of thanks to all that serve God on a regular basis. Perhaps you feel unappreciated from time to time, as though no one notices the work that you are doing, the time and energy that you are spending to make so many things flow seamlessly. Let me just say that, although you may not be noticed, although you may not be given the recognition or the credit that you deserve, your work is being noticed, your labor is not in vain, and someday real soon you will be given the appropriate reward for all of your service to The Lord.