Wednesday Wit | 28 May 2014 - Bulletin Bloopers

You've all seen them. Here are some of my favorite. Feel free to add more in the comments.

The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.

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The sermon this morning:  'Jesus Walks on the Water.'  The sermon tonight:  'Searching for Jesus.'

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Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale.  It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house.  Bring your husbands.

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Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community.  Smile at someone who is hard to love.  Say 'Hell' to someone who doesn't care much about you.

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Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.

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Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I will not pass this way again,' giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

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For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

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Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir.  They need all the help they can get.

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Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church.  So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

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A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall.  Music will follow.

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At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be 'What Is Hell?'  Come early and listen to our choir practice.

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Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.

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Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled.  Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

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Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

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The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.

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Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.

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The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind.  They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

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This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church.  Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

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Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM.  All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. Is done.

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The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the Congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.

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Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM.  Please use the back door.

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The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM.  The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

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Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church.  Please use large double door at the side entrance.

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The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new campaign slogan last Sunday:

"I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours".

Tuesday Thrombosis | 27 May 2014 – False Humility

One of the telling traits of a disciple of Christ is humility. It is also misunderstood, and consequently used a tool of control by the religious mindset. You hear this misconception played out in sermons, Christian music, and now social media. Comments like, “I just want a little cabin in the corner of heaven”, or, “I’m just the dirt under the toenail on the foot of Jesus.”

Some with even less “pride” than these would say, “I just want to be a doorkeeper in the Kingdom.” They do not even consider themselves worthy to be “in” heaven, so they just want to stand outside the door.

When Jesus came preaching The Kingdom he turned the known world on its ear. They had never encountered someone bold enough to claim to be The Son of God. To the religious minds of the day this was heresy; blasphemous talk; pride. The religious minds wanted to “control” Jesus, and the image with which he was being viewed by the masses.

John the Baptist made a bold declaration when others asked of him the reason he was yelling in the middle of the wilderness. He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight his paths.” And again he said, “There is one coming after me that I am not even worthy to unstrap his sandals.” See, true humility is acknowledging God’s purpose for your life and walking in it.

Dave Ramsey has become a ubiquitous voice of financial council in the United States. His radio program is listened to by millions every day as he encourages them to get out of debt. I agree with his cause. I can always identify a fan of his by how they answer the question, “How are you?” Dave’s catch phrase for this question is “Better than I deserve.” There is nothing wrong with this comment unless you are a Christian. Let me explain.

First of all, I am not trying to say Dave is, or is not, a Christian. He confesses Christ on his program. He can speak for himself on this matter. The phrase “Better than I deserve” is the focus here.

For the Christian, this comment negates the grace of God available to you. In grace we do not “deserve” anything, yet we get everything! If your focus is still on what you have earned (deserve) then you are not living from a posture of grace. When a Christian utters the Ramsey mantra they are demonstrating false humility. Our American ears have gotten so numbed by this type of false humility that we cannot even see ourselves ever living as the kings and priests that our Father has called us to be.

It is only when we are willing to rise from the position of false humility, stand firmly on the declarations of the Word of God, and declare boldly with all of our being: “I am a son/daughter of the Most High God. Because of Christ, I now rule and reign IN THIS LIFE through Jesus Christ. Heaven’s resources are available to accomplish the plans God has for me.” THAT is humility.

Deserve? No. Bought and paid for you by the blood of Jesus? Yes.

Let this be your prayer:

Father, help me to see who I am in you. Your destiny for me is to become like your Son, Jesus. Help me root out false humility in every aspect of my life. Help me see through your eyes. In Jesus’ name.

Monday Mooring | 26 May 2014 - Discipleship Is No Sweat … Literally!

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Such questions have been asked for centuries. I have one that is more important: Which came first, faith or works?

We see in scripture some things that, if not properly understood, can cause a problem for the believer. Paul states in several passages of scripture that salvation is not by works, but by faith alone. James then declares that faith without works is dead. Works or no works? Faith and …, or faith only?

For me this does not create a problem at all. I believe the two statements are complementary. Paul was addressing entrance into the The Kingdom: Salvation. You cannot work your way into heaven. Keeping the “law” was futile as a means to salvation. No amount of good deeds will earn relationship with God. That is a place reserved for sons and daughters; those He has adopted and made joint-heirs with Jesus. That is accomplished by our identification with the death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and seating of Christ Jesus. This “identification” is usually referred to as being saved.

James, on the other hand, was addressing people confessing to having been identified with Christ. He stated in James 2:14, “… though a man say he has faith …” James understood something about the transformation that occurs in a person’s life when they become a follower of Jesus and pursue becoming a disciple of His. It will affect your behavior. Your treatment of others will change. He calls the acts of a Christian “works.”

Paul said the same thing only using different terms. Paul said that “fruit” would be produced in the life of a disciple of Jesus.

That brings us to today’s Monday Moorings topic: Discipleship is no sweat … literally!

Let’s take a brief look at life under the law. God gave a list of dos and don’ts so that mankind could come to understand sin, and that sin separates us from true relationship with Father God. However, even when giving the rules for operating the temple worship He instructed the priests to only wear linen next to their skin – no wool – so they would not sweat while ministering unto God. Even under the law, worship was to be done with little human effort. Instead the focus was to be on the spiritual exercise of satisfying the penalty of sin by offering sacrifices: men responding to a loving Father, seeking restoration of relationship with His creation.

The New Testament in very simple terms is Jesus paying the ultimate sacrifice to buy once-for-all the restoration of relationship between humankind and their Creator. When Jesus gives the invitation, “follow me”, He does not add a list of laws that we have to follow in order to maintain relationship with Him. It is simply, without sweat or strain, a process of becoming His disciple. Love is not “a work”, it’s a fruit. Joy, peace, gentleness, self-control, etc., do not require strain. As a matter of fact, the more you try harder, the less you become like Jesus.

So on this Monday see if you can find a way to ease off the accelerator of works, pull off to a rest area, and change clothes. Trade your wool out for some linen. Let the Holy Spirit show you how to “let Jesus” be expressed through your life instead of straining to “push Jesus” on to others. You and they will be happy you did.

Friday Fritz | 23 May 2014 – Off Course

It is disheartening to suddenly realize you are lost. I can only remember being lost one time in my adult life. It brings with it a sense of helplessness. If you don’t know where you are there is no way to find your way back to something known.

Traversing a maze is difficult if you do not know you are entering one. If you know you are going into a maze there is a certain way to always find your way out: follow either the left wall or the right wall, but not both. Place your hand on one of the walls and never lift it. You may not follow the shortest path but you will always make it to the other opening.

This is the end of a busy week. You may have lifted your head this morning to realize you are off course, or in a maze, with no real sense of where you are heading. Over the weekend take some time to review the last few steps you’ve taken, or the last few decisions you’ve made. Go back, if you can, to the last time you felt you knew, beyond any doubt, that you were in the middle of God’s plan for your life. For some that may be pretty far, perhaps years.

Once there pray for God’s direction on what the next step should be and then take it. I know this is simplistic, but it is effective. I also realize that for some it is not possible to “start over” from a previous place. There may be consequences from poor choices that leave you in a place of hopelessness. That is where the power of God’s work in your life comes in. He can change things! He can redeem lost and broken things; make them like new.

In the middle of the din of life we must purpose to find the peace of God. Circumstances scream loudly, time-sensitive issues bring pressure to act, but until we sense the peace of God in a particular direction we need to wait before making a choice. To do otherwise will cause us, days, or years later, to find ourselves once again off course.

Recommended study: scriptures on The Peace of God; “Ordering Your Private World” by Gordon MacDonald; “Halftime” by Bob Buford; “How You Can Be Led by the Spirit of God” by Kenneth E. Hagin.

Thor’s Day Thunderings | 22 May 2014 - The Hidden God

This is the first entry in Thor's Day Thunderings (see Thematic Post entry for explanation).

One of the neatest abilities of God is the fact that He can hide himself. I know what you are thinking. How can someone who is omnipresent (everywhere at the same time), omnipotent (all powerful), and omniscient (knows everything) hide? The short answer is, I don’t know.

However, the Bible tells us He does. Isaiah 45:15 (KJV) Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.

Isaiah 55:6 (KJV) Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

I believe the explanation is quite simple. He is hiding in plain sight.

I recalled watching a video a few years ago. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo) In the clip two sets of people, one dressed in black, one dressed in white, were passing a ball between like-dressed individuals. Prior to watching the clip you are told to only count the number of times the ball is passed between members wearing the white clothing.

They play the clip and then ask questions about what you “saw”. How many times did the ball bounce between people dressed in white? Did you see anything unusual?

They play the clip a second time and ask that you not count the bouncing balls, but just watch the people as they mill around. A person wearing a gorilla suit walks right through the middle of the crowd … slowly. They made no attempt to hide or in any way avoid being seen. They even pause in the middle of the group, look at the camera, and beat on their chest. Most people never see the gorilla the first time because they are focused on their agenda, or the agenda given them by others.

Bottom line: we see that for which we are looking. We hear that for which we are listening.

Like the gorilla in the video, God is right in the middle of everything we experience in life. It is up to us to see Him there. Remember, He said, "Seek and you shall find." When we do we discover His purpose in every activity we engage ourselves. Life becomes so much more interesting. Nothing is mundane when God is in it.