Looking Forward to 2010

I know where God has taken me this year, but what is more important is where He wants me to go next year.

I put that up on my Twitter and Facebook accounts earlier today and the thought has kind of not gone away.

As I look at the statement, I see three parts:
1. Assessing what and where God has taken me this year.
2. Being able to understand what and where God has taken me.
3. Being able to allow those things to help me to do what God wants me to do, and where He wants me to go.

For a lot of people this has been a hard year and I am no exception. I have had to learn how to be a better husband, father, leader, but more importantly a better follower of Christ.

Problem is that for some,they just want to move on and forget. Others want to continually focus on it. Both are problematic and don't help. God did not bring those things in our lives for us to do either. They were brought to bring us closer to Him and to make us more like Jesus. They also lead us to where God wants us to go next in our spiritual journey with Him.

So I am looking forward to what God is going to do in my life, the life of my church, my family, and my friends in 2010. Hopefully so are you.

Your Servant,
Rich

Parents and the Unintended Consequences of a Lump of Coal

You have all been there; it is the crazy time of year we lovingly, stressfully, sometimes painfully call Christmas season. Our overcrowded calendars seem to find more time to do something else during which any other time of year we would say no. Then there are the issues of presents and gifts.

If you are like me you have already gotten the Christmas list from the kids, or maybe you have taken you kids to the mall already for the yearly photo op with someone dressed up in a funny red suit. That is where we run into unintended consequences.

What does the person say to the kid on his lap…”have you been a good boy/girl this year?” Translation: Have you earned the right to get a gift?

How about this one for those of us a little older….”If you are not careful, you will just get a lump of coal in you stocking.”

Gifts/presents become tools for behavior modification rather than what we call them, gifts. It leads me to ask what we are teaching our kids about Jesus at Christmas? What are we teaching them about His grace?

If the presents we put under the tree are there because they have earned them, then are they really gifts?

Aren’t we glad that God does not work that way! Jesus coming to earth as a baby and dying for us is something that was done by His grace; we never could have earned it and never will be able to earn it.

We don’t intend on teaching wrong things about Jesus to our kids, but isn’t it amazing how much more is caught that taught by our kids. They here us constantly teach earn, earn, earn. Or speak to them in conditional sentences. If you do this then….


Then they wonder what grace means.

Pastor Rich

Christian Assurance

August Montague Toplady is a name that you are not probably familiar with. He was a hymn writer and pastor in England in the mid to late 1700’s. He is known in hymn circles as the hymn writer of Christian assurance. We don’t sing a lot of his songs any more but he does have on that most of us know; “Rock of Ages”. The words that follow are from one of his other hymns and they beautifully articulate the victory that we have in Jesus Christ.

As Debtors to Mercy Alone

1 As debtors to mercy alone, Of heavenly mercy we sing; Nor fear to draw near to the throne,
Our praise and our worship to bring: The wrath of a sin-hating God, With us can have nothing to do;
The Saviour's obedience and blood Hide all our transgressions from view.

2 The work which His goodness began, The arm of His strength will complete: His promise is Yea and Amen, And never was forfeited yet: Things future, nor things that are now,
Nor all things below nor above, Can make Him His purpose forgo, Or sever our souls from His love.

3 Our names from the palms of His hands Eternity will not erase: Impressed on His heart they remain
In marks of indelible grace: And we to the end shall endure, As sure as the earnest is given;
More happy, but not more secure, The spirits departed to heaven.

Your Servant,

Pastor Rich

Jehovah Jireh The Lord Provides (Sees)

While Krista and I were in seminary, the church we attended and were members of did a series on the names of God as part of a time of commitment to do some needed improvements and renovations to the churches facilities. Every week we would focus on a different name of God. Banners were made that reflected each name and the banner was placed on the stage as the church sang a song we have sung here a couple of times in the last few months, “Lift High the Lord Our Banner”. When commitment Sunday came all of the banners were in front of the stage and at the appropriate time the congregation came forward and placed there commitment card under the name of God that they could most identify with. Krista and I placed our card under Jehovah Jireh.

We were led to that particular name because at that point in our lives we could already see how God was providing for us and blessing us beyond what we could ever have hoped for. Now a few years later, a few different places later, a few kids later, He is still showing us that He is Jehovah Jireh.

The more literal translation of Jehovah Jireh is “the Lord Sees”. God saw that Abraham needed a sacrifice and He provided one in a ram in a thicket. An English word that gives us the best picture of what is described in Genesis 22 is provision. Provision is taken from 2 Latin words “pro” which means beforehand and “vision” which means to see. Hence, to see beforehand.

God sees beforehand and promises to provide for us even in spite of our bad decisions, lack of faith, and lack of obedience. I am sure that if you look back on you life as I have mine, you will see that to be true.

In Him,

Pastor Rich