Open Mouth Insert Foot!

How many would like to live a life without any troubles? I think most of us would answer that question with a absolute- Yes, that's what I want! However if we read the Bible we find time and time again the promise of persecution, temptations, and hardship. Wow, isn't that exciting? I think I know your reaction to that little tidbit of information. So why do we have to go through these tough times? If we read on we see that each time we go through these hard times we grow. We grow in character. We grow in our faith in God. We get a little glimpse of what Jesus went through. Have you ever been involved in doing something good and someone comes along and just tears your heart and stomps on? It seems like at church when this happens it hurts worse. We feel like we should be in a safe place in God's house but that isn't always the case. Why? The biggest reason this happens is that we are there.(OUCH!) Well-meaning people want to tell the teachers how to teach or the preacher how to preach but if you ask them to help! Whoa now, I'm just here to critique you. It may sound like I'm bitter but I'm not(I promise!). I do get tired of seeing people sacrificing their time, get their heart ripped out and handed back to them on a silver platter all in the name of God. Looking back on some of my "learning experiences", I do see how my character was developed but it doesn't make it any easier when going through it. One final word on this subject, think before you open your mouth! It could save you and the person you're speaking to a lot of pain.

Visitors

Catalyst Roadtrip came to the church today. It was great to meet L.V. and see his vanagon. It's hard to believe the Catalyst conference will be here in about 40 days. We had a couple of men sign up to go with me. I'm excited about that! I want them to see some of the great ideas that are out there to help us share the Gospel. I don't have a lot of time today because I still have to prepare for our Bible study tonight. God bless and have a joy filled day!

Cleaning Day

Today is cleaning day here at the church!!! I'm just kidding. I'm not really that excited about it but I know it needs to be done. I remember a little over 6 years ago when I became the pastor here at NCC, we brought in a couple of dumpsters to get rid of all the things that had accumulated in the church. It seemed that people had used the church as a place to store their junk. That might sound a little harsh but the truth is the truth. "It not good enough for my house let's give it to the church." So we went through each room and got rid of the junk! I just remembered something that happened a few years ago and I want to share it with you. I started pastoring 10 years ago when we took over a small cogregation from another pastor who was going back to school. He took everything that was his and when he was finished we had just the bare necessities. We also had a cross-eyed statue of Moses and a lighted picture of the last supper(simular to velvet Elvis). I hate to say it but we took down the picture and ended up giving to a family who wanted to put it up in their basement. Poor ole Moses got knocked over and like Humpty Dumpty we couldn't put him back together again. Fast forward 7 years and I get a call from a lady who wants her statue and picture back!! Well it falls on my shoulders to break the terrible news to this lady. Needless to say she didn't take the news very well.
To get back to the junk. We cleaned the church completely 6 years ago and I thought we had done a good job of keeping it that way until a few weeks ago I was walking thru the church and I noticed how junkie the rooms looked again. So I decided every week I would take 1 room and work on it. It seems I've made a little progress.
I think the church is no different than our lives. We believe everything is ok in our lives but if we would just stop long enough to look we might see we have accumulated junk. In Hebrews 12, the writer tells us to "strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress". Maybe today would be a good day to clean house and I'm not talking about where sleep at night. Clean our minds, our hearts, and our souls with the blood of Jesus Christ who died for each of us!

Live today like you were dying!

Good morning to all! Hope you have a very happy start to this work week! We are about half way into our sermon series Back-to-School. Yesterday we spoke on being a disciple or follower of Jesus. I think the one thing that stood out to me was the fact that Jesus enjoyed life, not just endured it. I have been thinking of doing a series on the subject of if you had 30 days to live how would you live it? I love the country song by Tim ? (can't remember his last name) about his dadHis dad had cancer and he tells his son how he wished he had lived his life differently. We got some terrible news yesterday. Deana's cousin passed away. She was just in her early 30's I think. She had 2 young children. What a shock! Please pray for Uncle Joe and Velda and all the family. What would you do differently today?
We also had a business meeting after church yesterday. Let me just say we have a great bunch of people who love God with all their hearts!
Also, the GREATEST cooks around!!! I think I might have gained 5 lbs. yesterday.(just kidding)

Friday

Well, we made it to Friday! I'm looking forward to the weekend and spending some time with my family. We thought our niece was coming to see us this weekend but it didn't work out. We were trying to think of something fun to do. For a lot of us finding something to do that's fun and also fits into our time frame is difficult. Since I'm a pastor, my main work day is Sunday and I'll usually spend most of Saturday getting things ready. In Psalms we see a young man who worked at the temple and he watched all his friends and people around him out having fun and he asked God "WHY?" Why did they look like they were having so much fun and he was busy about God's business? In reality all he was doing was feeling sorry for himself (just like we all do at one time or another). God showed him that his life on earth was short but eternity was forever. What each of us do or don't do while we are living will determine how we spend eternity. When Asaph realized this, his "pity party" turned into joy. How many times do we get into the same place as Asaph and begin to think about how bad we have got it. Don't fall into that trap! Begin to count your blessings! Name them one by one! Count your blessings see what God has done!!!

Deception

This morning as I sit here in my office there is one thing I can't get off my mind-DECEPTION. Last night our Bible study was on lying. When is it ok to lie or tell half truths? My son had sent us a video several weeks ago that he said was AWESOME! I had watched that day and when we got home that night I told Deana, " You've got to see this"! So we sat and watched one of the most powerful songs we had ever heard. It was written by a pastor and songwriter in Australia who had found out he had cancer. The testimony and the song together was so inspiring. Well yesterday Josh called me and asked me if I had heard? It seems that for 2 years this man had faked his sickness and never had cancer! WOW! Talk about deception. Who can you trust? That was the question that my wife kept asking last night. Can we trust our politicians? Can we trust our pastors? Unfortunately as we can see from this story, in some cases NO! I challenge you today to begin your own crusade for TRUTH! It has to start in each of us and then it can spread! Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life". He is the only One we can trust completely but as we imitate Him, His character becomes our character!!!!

Isn't it amazing?

Isn't it amazing the people we meet in a day? A few weeks ago we were sitting in Longhorn Steakhouse and I heard someone say Bill? I looked around and a pastor from Florida was sitting right behind me. We talked a couple of minutes about our families and then he left. I haven't been able to get that meeting out of my head because I don't believe in chance. I believe that things happen in our life for a reason. I recently found out that same pastor when he got back home had to go to the hospital. He's doing fine now but I know why God had me to pray for him these last few weeks. About 25 years ago I happened to be practicing softball on our church's field, when down the hill came this beautiful young lady. I remember telling a friend of mine " I'm going to marry that girl!" Less than a year later we were married! Isn't it amazing the people we meet in a day?

Thoughts

A few thoughts for a terrific Monday!

1) My beautiful wife is home from Colorado!

2) I gave our church the proper dress code for our services on Sunday. I'm not sure if it was what they expected! Basically just MODEST dress is required. We find in the Bible that God is more interested in the inside than what we're wearing on the outside.

3) I watched the Falcons Saturday, I'm not real sure what to expect. Good or bad I'll watch them anyway.

4) The #1 Bulldogs seem to have a lot of doubters- NOT ME!!

5) How to move our church outside our building? Any suggestions?

What are you full of?

Last night at our Wednesday night Bible study, we had a good discussion on Acts 6 and what Stephen was full of. We read in verses 5 and 8 that Stephen was full of faith and the Holy Spirit and also full of grace and power. I was amazed that we had the most conversation (which I love) on being full of GRACE. One thing we see in Stephen's life and death is grace. Grace is another word for unmerited favor or getting something you don't deserve. Stephen was able to be gracious when he was waiting on the widows he was assigned to take care of, when he was falsely accused, and even when he was being stoned to death. I was eating lunch today and I began to listen to the conversations around me. Most were not very gracious! The complaints ranged from the way their food was cooked, to the way people drive, to the terrible ex-daughter in law. If someone was listening to you today, what would they hear? Most of us can really find the faults in others but we miss our own. My prayer is that God would help us all to be full of grace like Stephen.

What's new?

Tuesday morning! WOW! It looks like it going to be another incredible fast paced week. I have to say, I will not be disappointed if it does pass by fast. My best friend is gone this week to Denver to take care of her mother, who by the way is progressing in her healing process.(PTL!) It's lonesome around the house without her here but I'm glad she had the opportunity to go. I have to say I believe our new series, Back to School, is going to hit home with a lot of people. After the service Sunday I had several tell me they had been neglecting reading God's manual (Bible). I work part time at a local funeral home and it may be a week or two in between the times I work and it seems like I have to relearn certain tasks. Alot of things we have learned before but we haven't used them in a while so we need to go back and refresh our memories. In Lamentations 3:23 it says that God's mercies are new every morning, so have you found out what's new today? By the way, thanks for your comments.

Sunday Again?

Well it's Sunday again! I told Deana that my week seems to be Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and then Sunday again. What I meant was my week just flys by. I know I'm not alone in this feeling. Well anyway, I'm starting a new series this week - Back-to-School. Today's message is about our textbook that we are supposed to be using - the Bible. We will be covering other topics that relate to our walk with Jesus. If you are in the Cartersville area please feel free to come and join us at New Covenant Church.

Consequences

I spoke last Sunday on Samson and Delilah. I guess I focused more on the consequences of our sin than the sin itself. I love sports! Deana will tell you that is a true statement. I watch the Braves(even in the bad years), Falcons(ditto), Hawks, Georgia Tech, and probably my favorite the Georgia Bulldogs. When I read that they were the preseason pick for #1, I was excited. As I've followed all the suspensions this week my mind questions 'WHY'? Consequences!! We almost believe we can do anything and not suffer any consequences. These young men have lived in a world where football is worshipped and have probably got away with numerous mistakes without any consequences. It would be easy to turn a blind eye and say "boys will be boys", but I admire Coach Richt for his stand. Hopefully these young men will see that their actions do have consequences. My actions have consequences and so do yours.

Observations

I won't write about what I told Deana I was going to write about today.(Ha) I think I will just share some of the things I have observed over this past week.

1) I witnessed some very special people come to the church on Saturday and work- very hard!

2) I saw my son and his friends try to figure out "WHY" their friend had to die in a car wreck.

3) I saw a couple testify to the goodness of God for his new kidney and his new life.

4) I saw a precious friend struggle with the lack of commitment of others.

5) I witnessed one of the shyest ladies stand and tell how God had healed her liver.

6) I met with 10 ministers and the oldest in his 80's still excited to serve God!

7) I sat in my office and cried for no apparent reason other than I just witnessed all these amazing things.

Have a great day!!!

Mondays

I know I write alot from a pastor's perpective but that is who I am. Mondays! This day is harder on me than any other day of the week and from talking to other pastors and reading their books and posts, I'm not alone. For the majority of my ministry, I've taken Mondays off. A couple of years ago I read some outstanding advice for pastors- "Don't take Mondays off! Stay as busy as you can!!" I took that advice and now I work. Are there days that are harder than others for you? I suggest you change your schedule and try some new stuff. Also for those of you who have prayed for Deana's Mom- THANKS! From the reports we are hearing she is improving and Deana will be going next week to help her.

Game Day

I just read Perry Noble's post and he described Sunday as game day. Am I ready? Did I hear from God this week? Have I put sufficient time in preparation for today's service? Those are some of the thoughts that I think about on Sunday morning before I step up to speak. I had one friend say "Why do you have to study? Don't God just tell you what to say?" I understand what he was saying but I also want to understand what God is saying. This morning say a prayer for your pastor. Believe me, he needs it!

Surgery

Today my mother-in-law goes in for surgery. (Please pray for her) I was reminded of what someone said recently, "It's always minor surgery unless it's happening to you". True statement! I was going in for a heart cath. a few months ago and I felt the need to try to tell my family how much I loved them. I said "try" because my wife didn't want to listen to me saying those things because she thought I thought I was dying. This year I've had a few of those moments where I've looked back on my life. I preached a series last year at our church and one of the points to it was "NO REGRETS". Live every day so that at the end of the day you could say "I have no regrets today". Have I accomplished that? No, but I'm not going to stop trying! My wife just called and her mother is in surgery right now. Deana and I have been married for almost 25 years and in that time I've had some disagreements with her Dad and Mom but I can happily say today, I love them and they love me.( I think!) Get well Grandmommy! We love you!