It was a typical Sunday morning at the Willis household. My brother and I, 13 and 9 respectively, were getting dressed for church while my dad yelled encouragements from the front of the house. We were late again. Mom was putting on her make-up and dad looking for the lost bibles that were just found last Sunday night and the car running in the driveway. My Buster Brown suit was pressed and I looked dressed for the occasion. My brother in his “zip” tie if you remember those and me with my tied tie because I would settle for nothing less than what the adults wore, except for the Buster Brown suit, were once again running late. We rushed to the ’66 Ford Galaxy and sped out of the driveway on a mission to beat the Sunday school bell when something in my dad snapped. In front of the Burger Chief on Piedmont Avenue he did the coolest State Patrol slide you’ve ever seen. My brother and I slammed against the side panel of the back seat because seat belts weren’t all that popular in those days and dad sped off in the opposite direction from church exclaiming if we couldn’t be on time we just wouldn’t go at all.
All that morning we kept our Sunday clothes on until church was supposed to be over because we were afraid something bad would happen to us if we didn’t. There was this abiding feeling that God was mad at us for not being on time and not going to church. It’s a weird place to feel like the God that loved me enough to save me and forgive me somehow couldn’t get over us being late or even missing church. How odd?
Jesus made a profound statement in Mark 2:27 “Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made to benefit people, and not people to benefit the Sabbath.” I had the mistaken belief that somehow the Lord’s Day was about God’s benefit and not mine. I thought if I didn’t show up for church that it was like missing someone’s birthday party and they would be disappointed in me. The reason God rested on the Sabbath was not because He was tired but to give us an example of rest. We find rest no longer in a day or a commandment but in the person of rest, Jesus. “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 NLT
So the weird place is the person of rest and not the place of rest. And let me encourage you as you see the times getting more and more difficult to take heed to Hebrews 10:25 which says, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.” Just because we don’t have to come to church to gain God’s favor doesn’t mean we don’t need too. Come and find comfort in the weird place, the rest of God.
I sometimes humor myself by watching television evangelists. I know, I know, as a pastor to sound like I’m poking fun at a co-laborer seems so hypocritical. It just amazes me how some of the people presume upon a “fresh word” from God. My greatest fear of saying, “The Lord spoke to me” is that what I think God said doesn’t happen. But I hear these guys make bold predictions for what God has told them He is going to do. The Bible teaches us that if a prophet’s prophecies do not come to pass then he is not a prophet. I want to go a little further.
My fear of a “fresh word” from God is what it implies. If I have a “fresh word” from God am I not saying the Bible is stale? If I say that the word I have from God is just for someone in the room who needs to hear it am I saying what the Bible has already said is not sufficient? I have met people who are so caught up in the sensation of religion that they miss the relationship of Jesus. To imply that God has a “fresh word” from you or for someone else is to imply that Jesus is a respector of persons. What about all of the other people in the room who are struggling and they didn’t get a word from God.
How many times has the “fresh word” been about someone’s sin or their lack of giving? In most instances it is always an encouraging word. If you’ll notice, the encouragement is always for the individual and the condemnation is always corporate. As I have studied prophecy, most of the words that came by revelation were convicting words.
So be encouraged today! The word of God, the Bible, has already been spoken and continues to speak to all men alike. You are not passed over in it’s writings. As 1 Corinthians 13:8 says, “Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!” NLT
As an eight year old boy traveling with his 12 year old brother to Disney World the excitement could not have been more. We drove up to our hotel and out to the side was a huge spiral slide. Disney could wait until after I had time on the new found slide. After sliding for several minutes I suggested we make a train of two to slide down together. Unfortunate for me was the fact that my right knee became a brake that prevented us from going fast and also burned the first 2 layers of skin away. The pain was not that bad until it scabbed over and I couldn’t bend my leg. I was gimp in one leg and became the anchor for the whole family. I had crutches provided by the clinic there in Disney but the whole trip was a reminder of my poor decision to enjoy a 2-boy train on a slide to contempt.
Have you ever had to suffer the pain of being the one who prevents everyone else from having fun? You wish for a do-over but none are possible. You ask everyone else to just go ahead of you but they would rather feel contempt for you than to let you be alone and feel guilty. Whether a physical ailment, emotional upheaval, or relational tsunami has hamstringed you there is a Father who knows where you are.
John Mark left Paul at Pamphylia because of the dangers of sharing the gospel and what he had seen happen to those that followed Jesus. Paul insisted in Acts 15 that he would not take John Mark with him because his faith had failed him previously. John Mark went home but God sent Barnabas to lovingly take a chance on John Mark and it proved to be a great move. Not only did he write the gospel of Mark, but Paul in 2 Timothy 4:11 says, “…Bring Mark with you when you come, for he will be helpful to me in my ministry.” John Mark was restored and was no longer looked down upon by the apostle Paul.
Next time you feel like the skinny kid with the gimp leg and everyone else is belaboring your presence look around for a Barnabas. The slide to contempt can cause you to never trust again or be the best thing that ever happened to you. If you can’t find a Barnabas then become the one everyone else is looking for! Let the slide to contempt be the spring board to a new understanding of Christ.
It’s almost time for school to start back and I can’t wait! My wonderful wife whom I love with all of my heart will be going back into the classroom. My high school sophomore son will be starting back and running cross country. My middle daughter is working two jobs and dating so we seldom see her and my oldest daughter is still at college and we only see her on weekends. Maybe, I can finally get some work done!
For all of my male readers you understand my first paragraph. For all of the female readers I just became a real creep. Whereas men see their work as what defines them and gives them a sense of value women see the family as what defines them and gives them value. But can I tell you that we are both so wrong.
When we define ourselves we tend to define by what we do whereas God defines us by who we are in. Let me unpack this a little. Once I receive Jesus as my Savior and Lord “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” My identity is now in Christ and not in what I do or don’t do. I am identified with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection into the new life and now I’m being conformed into his image. The best part now is that it is not up to us to fix ourselves. Our job is to spend time with the Father and allow the Holy Spirit time to work in us.
Our growth in Christ is described in John 15 as being part of the vine. I’ve never walked by a grapevine and heard the branches grunting trying to grow. Some vines that get more Son light grow stronger and produce more fruit but who determines which vines grow in more sunny areas? The Father determines our growth and productivity. So, today I encourage you to expose yourself to the Son’s light and rest as God produces fruit through you. Don’t strain!
As we had our picture taken for the last time before we boarded the Carnival Cruise Ship, we had no idea what would happen next. We walked the gang plank into this beautiful atrium area with gold and lights and pomp and circumstance. There were servers everywhere with large plastic pineapple drinks for which I declined thank you. We went to our room where our luggage was waiting. We dressed for dinner where we were encouraged to try whatever we wanted and if we didn’t like it we could send for something else. There were 4 different food bars for breakfast and lunch and you have ice cream, hamburgers, or hot dogs anytime you wanted. Every day we would return to our room to find wonderful towel animals on the bed or hanging from the ceiling. This is the life! It’s all about me and I really like it!
The fourth day out the seas were rough and so being prone to motion sickness I pretty much lost that day and everything else I had eaten until that point. The amount of food I ate gave me heart burn and I’m not used to a gallon and a half of ice cream a day or 3 extra burgers between meals. The ocean was great but the sun burned me one the second day and sun screen was the order of every day after. I loved the night life but couldn’t stand being around so many drunk people. So, with all of the fun stuff came the down side to balance it all out.
I loved the cruise ship because it was all about me, my pleasure, my wants, me, me, me! When I consider the church I’m afraid so many who attend want a cruise ship church. It’s too hot or it’s too loud or no one spoke to me or I’m not in their clique or bring me another sermon, I didn’t like that one and in an effort to keep people coming we have perpetuated the problem. We want people in heaven but a cruise ship church is just not biblical.
I like to view the church as Max Lucado wrote so eloquently as a battleship. On a battleship it’s all about the captain and not about me. On a battleship if everyone doesn’t pull their weight and fill their roll the whole ship could be lost. The goal of the battleship is to defeat the enemy and get the crew home safely. On a battleship those that don’t perform their duties are demoted and those who do are promoted. (Those who are faithful over a few things will be ruler over many.)
Let’s come to church this week looking to support one another on a battleship and not worried whether our needs are being met. We serve the Captain! His direction and His will is all that really matters!
In September of 2004 we lost our lease. As a new pastor to a new church with nothing but potential we were homeless with less than $20 in the bank. Tough times, but one of our best losses. In that loss we applied for a modular building from the Georgia Baptist Convention which reported no buildings were available. Just a few days later I received a phone call that a modular had magically come available for immediate occupancy. Within 2 weeks we were meeting in that building sitting in lawn chairs worshiping.
After four and a half years we received the dreaded phone call that another church would be coming to get what had become, our modular. It took three years to outgrow it, purchase another building, and move forward. It sat empty for a year but now will be used by a new church in Covington, GA.
We are so excited about what God will accomplish in Covington in the modular that has meant so much to us. To hear the excitement in the church planter’s voice is so encouraging. This gift will once again be one of our best losses!
This is another opportunity for God to surprise us with another miraculous gift! Go God!
Vacation Bible School. Okay, first, it ain’t no vacation to take care of somebody else’s kids when they have been off their schedule since school was out. They have nothing to do all day and so they are wound up when they get to church. Structure is a state no one has studied in 2 weeks.
Bible. Bible is the Word of God that reveals the truth of God and how He can transform our lives. In VBS the Bible is set to music with awkward movements that no one can master in just 5 short days so we look forward to making fools out of ourselves on Sunday. The Bible is reduced to short phrases and picture stories meant to help children understand that God loves them and wants to save them. Great goals and I support them but it ain’t no vacation!
School. Just the word conjures up horrible memories and we wonder why not as many children show up.
Please don’t take my tongue and cheek comments as being any indication that I don’t love VBS. I love it! There are more children that come to understand their sin and the love of God for them and the forgiveness of their sins than any other ministry of the church. It’s a great time for parents to give their kids structured time to learn about God. It’s so much fun to work with people from the church that I normally only see for an hour on Sunday. The more I know our church the more I love it but it’s a fact that VBS is no VACATION!
Love you guys and keep up the good work!
Standing in the back of the gymnasium holding a massive VHS recorder waiting on my child’s name to be called for an award brought both anticipation and shoulder cramps. We had received the coveted letter stating that our child was to receive an award on honor’s day. Parent’s with heads held high and pride beaming from their faces waited in anticipation for their little Johnny to be exalted above all of his peers and receive his well deserved award. Over an hour of excruciating pomp and circumstance ended without my child’s name ever being called. Something must be wrong! In the masses of children showing off their awards was my child confused and embarrassed. As we would learn later, a mistake had been made and there was no recognition available for my broken hearted daughter.
This Saturday that same child who managed to persevere through that and other trying circumstances of moving schools and making new friends will walk across a grassy field to receive her diploma for 12 years of blood, sweat and tears. She will receive a double seal so I guess she recovered and eventually she gets her reward.
As a father of three with one in college and another one on the way I can’t help but get a little misty at the thought of it all. She’s grown. Of course she has lots to learn but something happens to a child after graduation and they, nor you, can ever go back. Regrets have entered my mind along with many triumphs but there’s nothing I can do to turn back the clock. It’s not as some have said, “A blink and then she’s gone”, but time has gone by quickly. I can only hope I have instilled enough values to carry her through her discovery phase. I will continue to pray that my children will not be able to sin in secret and that God will mature them as they minister for His kingdom. No matter how tough we can’t stop our kids from growing up or growing out.
Pray for my daughter as she enters a world that so desperately needs her charm and abiding faith. She’s going to make a difference I just know it!
“Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.” “And haven’t you read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath?” “Does the law permit a person to work by healing on the Sabbath?” “And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath.” “Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus.” Matt. 12 various
As a kid growing up I wasn’t allowed to fish, play ball, or God forbid play cards on Sunday. My parents relaxed a little as we grew older but still hold a very high view of Sunday as a day of rest. I believe when God the Creator rested on the Sabbath day it was not because he was tired. He rested to give us the example that “men should work six days and on the seventh day, rest.” Jesus reminded the Pharisees on more than one occasion that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Many times in scripture Jesus was accused of not respecting the Sabbath day yet He never sinned. If healing, gathering wheat to eat, or doing good had been a breech of the Law then Jesus would not have been sinless. It amazes me when we place more value on something than Jesus did. I will say that on this one the Seventh Day Adventist have it right if we live under the Law.
This is our fourth Serve Sunday and so far we have repaired and refreshed 3 subdivision signs, painted address numbers for 5 subdivisions, cleaned up several yards, laid 200′ of water lines for the city, cleaned out closets, painted rails, landscaped, replaced swings, removed debris all for Mission Road Elementary School, and picked up trash along the roads and kept the children for Church on the Ridge for a special Sunday service, painted a guard rail, cleaned out a ditch, and few other things I can’t think of right now.
We serve because Jesus served! Our act of worship once a quarter is to serve our community to earn a platform to share Christ. I love it! This has come to define our church and I’m so glad. We want to be that church that is so vital to the health of our community that people would miss us if we were not here anymore. I truly believe our people get more of the day than the community does. There’s just something so fulfilling about getting outside of yourself to serve others. It’s freeing! Here are a couple of the comments just from this afternoon.
“I’m so glad we got to serve today!” BS
“It was a great day, wasn’t it?! My arms are still sore from holding that weed eater for so long but…it was so worth it! I was so dirty that I thought someone was gonna have to hose me down before I could come in the house! Haha!” VS
Even with the threat of rain we persevered and God got the glory! Rain can’t stop the serve! Serve on!
Once upon a time three little pigs talked about building their own home. One little pig set out to build his house when he happened upon a man selling straw. He purchased the straw and within a short time had build a house out of straw. Along came the big bad wolf who wanted into the house to eat the little pig. He said he’d huff and puff and blow the house in which he did. The little pig ran away.
The second little pig happened upon a stranger selling sticks. He bought some and built his house. Along came the big bad wolf who huffed and puffed and blew his house down. He escaped.
The third little pig happened upon a man selling brick. He built his house out of brick and no matter how hard the wolf tried he couldn’t blow down the brick house. The other little pigs moved in and they lived happily ever after.
One day 3 guys were talking and all wanted to build lives of success. One guy set out to make his life count by depending on others to get him through. He depends on his parents to bail him out of trouble, his friends to lend him a hand and anyone else who will give him freebies. One day when trouble came there was no one to help him out and his life became shattered.
The second guy set out to make his life count all by his own efforts. He works his way through college and then grad school to get the great job that required many, many hours to meet the continuing demands to find himself lonely and unfulfilled at the top of the ladder. When the trouble came he had no one and his dreams came crashing down.
The third man set out to make his life count by investing in the lives of others. He gave time and resources to the first guy who blew him off for not being fun. He gave time and energy to the second guy who never had time for him. He gave time to the neighbors around him and to his family and friends. When trouble came they were all there to catch him.
Have we built our lives on what others can do for us or for what we can do for ourselves and neglected the most precious gift from God, others? Jesus came to redeem man from himself and his worldly pursuits for fulfillment in a world that will come crashing down. The only thing we take into eternity is the treasures we have laid up in heaven. Eternal things that really matter and relationships we have made. The bible tells us that in heaven we will know people as brothers and sisters in the family of God. The relationships we build and comfort and encouragement we give lasts into eternity. Invest in others and serve them and your reward in heaven will be much more than a brick house with three little pigs! And when the big bad wolf of life comes knocking on your door you can call your friends and neighbors to help run him off.
