Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs

Has anyone seen the signs on the Interstate predicting Judgment Day is coming on May 21, 2011? According to the billboard, Jesus will come to take believers to heaven and the world will be destroyed in October.

Well, I have to begin by saying that according to scripture, Matthew 24:36 “But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven's angels, not even the Son. Only the Father knows.” Thus, the folks who have placed this message may be doing it for another reason entirely.

Maybe you have thought about the message if you have seen it. If not, let me ask you, “What IF… the end of the world was coming in May?” What would you want to happen if these were your last months of life? Would it matter to you?

I think this is what the advertisements are meant to evoke, a sense of finitude. Let me tell you if you don’t know… you and everyone you know is going to die. It’s true. Everyone you know and all those you don’t will die. The question is when? Who knows? But what if it were in two months?

Again, let’s look at scripture. Luke 12 tells the story of a man who wants more and more only to find out that his life would end the next day. Do you need God or stuff more? Obviously you need God more than stuff. Lots and lots of stuff reflects a self centered life and lack of concern for others, especially a love for God.

So, maybe the billboards are simply asking us to reflect upon the fact that we will die. We cannot stop the process. And, we need to prioritize our lives as if our lives might end soon.

Are you scared? Worried? Don’t be. Here is the Good News. Death is not the enemy. Death is a passage to meet Jesus. For those who have given our lives to Christ, we know that heaven awaits and this world is only a temporary home. In fact, I look at death as vehicle to transport us to meet God. Many aren’t frightened of death, only how it may come and the life that paves the way to death.

Finally, the Judge who awaits us all is not some traffic court judge. It is our best friend, our loving parent, our Savior who laid down His life for you and me, the Judge is none other than Jesus the Christ. So, if these ads made you think and me write this column, maybe those signs aren’t that bad.

Four Things About Prayer

On a recent Sunday, I preached a message on prayer. I wanted to share that with you in print as well. As we were studying the story of Elijah, we noticed in chapter 18 that Elijah goes to the top of Mount Carmel and begins to pray for rain. He drops to his knees and does four things that can help us learn to be a better praying people.

First, Elijah humbles himself. Going to God is an overwhelming act. To present ourselves to God can be uncomfortable to many of us. There is a fear of going before God because God is… well… God! God knows all about each and every one of us. There is no hiding, yet many are reluctant to stop and actually try to connect with God.

Secondly, Elijah shows that prayer needs to be specific. Asking God for what we actually need. That takes planning (homework). What do you need not want??? God is no heavenly butler simply catering to our whims. God will provide our needs when we are specific.

Third, Elijah is persistent. Seven times (many) Elijah sends his servant to check the sea for cloud activity. Each time there is nothing happening, Elijah goes back to praying for rain. He is persistent and will pray over and over for his need.

Fourth and finally, prayer is expectant. As I just said, Elijah asks the servant for a report each time about the cloud activity. Elijah expects something to happen! When we pray earnestly for a specific need we can expect God to get going, it just may be awhile.

Learning to pray is a discipline. We cannot expect to only go to God once in a blue moon and somehow know have a relationship. You see, prayer is not about getting what we want. Prayer is about relationship. I believe this is where the Muslim faith seems to have an edge on Christianity. Muslims are expected to practice prayer daily, Christians can seem lazy in their prayer life and thus, undisciplined. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly advocated Christianity above all things, but many converts to Islam may see Christians as people who simply don’t practice what they preach without prayer as a discipline.

Prayer is also what keeps us connected to God. When a crisis hits, it is not the Sundays that get us through, it is the prayer Monday through Saturday. Sundays are like going to the gas station… we get re-fueled for daily life. I hope this has helped in a meaningful way because I believe that the practice of prayer is life-changing.

Pouring It On

In sports, there are some un-written sportsmanship rules, especially when there is a lopsided score. For example, in football a team with a big lead stops throwing and simply runs the ball; in baseball, the team with the big lead stops stealing base; and in basketball, teams stop pressing and trying to throw long passes for easy layups when they have a huge lead in the second half. It is commonly seen as pretty classless when teams fail to adhere to these rules. Recently I saw this happen at a high school varsity basketball game. Maybe it is just my pet peeve, but here is what happened.

Bridge City was playing the top ten team, the Silsbee Tigers. This season the Tigers have an excellent team and came into the game undefeated. By the second half, the game had already been decided with Silsbee holding a 40-point lead. But nothing changed! Instead of pulling back and playing a bit more conservative and just finishing the game, the Tigers continued with their full court press that had helped gain their lead. Their defensive intensity never wavered and they continued to look for long passes to boost the score further. They simply wanted to pour it on and they did. Final score on the books, Silsbee 90, Bridge City 22!

Is that what it has come to? Didn’t anyone learn “the Jurassic Park” lesson of… just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should? This was the kind of thing that gives sports a bad name. Even one of the Silsbee players turned and cursed the visiting crowd (which of course the referees did not hear) after they booed his aggressive play as he hammered a player trying to steal the ball in spite of that huge lead. I blame the coaches for such a horrible exhibition and example of sportsmanship. What were they thinking? Were they trying to reach 100? Sorry, but they are in charge of the players and they could have turned it down a notch. I am sure the good folks in Silsbee want to be represented better than that. We all want to be proud of our student athletes, not just for winning, but winning or losing with class.

But, that is our society from time to time. It seems that some coaches don’t care or get some sick thrill out of winning is such a manner. But it is not the first nor will it be the last time coaches act so foolishly. Last year it was national news when coaches at a kid’s football league game in the Houston area got into a fistfight. We are appalled when nearly a decade ago Indiana Pacer players went into the stands in Detroit to fight fans. So here it is… another poor example of what NOT to do.

From a spiritual standpoint, it isn’t hard to find numerous passages in the Bible about respecting others and having mercy. The Gospels and almost all the other books tell us to respect one another and treat others with kindness. I believe most people do act respectful and kind to others. I see it all the time in courteous driving habits, opening doors for others, good manners, and even in a friendly “howdy”.

Maybe it is just me, but I was taught years ago that athletics aren’t just about winning, but doing our best and enjoying the sport. As a pastor, I know athletics are a gift from God and brings joy to many people. It should be treated as such, play hard, but be respectful to your opponent. Until next time, Blessings!

The Rescue Squad

A few months ago I was stuck in traffic because a car wreck had occurred. I sat and waited until the police, ambulances, and tow trucks arrived and helped the people.
It struck me that God has done the same thing for each of us.
If we go back to the beginning we see where we went wrong. Looking at the Genesis text, we see that Adam and Eve were, like many drivers, perking along fine down the road with God. They ate, drank, and conversed with God daily. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is from Genesis 3:8-9 “When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God. God called to the Man: "Where are you?”
Where are you? That is the question of all time. What has happened to the wonderful existence that God brought forth at the Garden of Eden. It was a place where we could hear God walking, see God, and converse with God. Eden was lost.
Fortunately, God knew, even before we left Eden, that all of history would be a rescue mission. Like the assistance rendered to the wrecked vehicles, God would be there to rescue us from sin and death. Even though we were at fault, God chose not to abandon us, but from the beginning, God chose to do whatever it took to bring us home to His safe arms.
When Moses needs to get across the Red Sea, God chooses to act. God gives Moses the ability to divide the water and allows the Israelites to cross. When Elijah confronts to prophets of Baal, God reigns down fire to set water soaked wood ablaze.
God’s rescue plan is fulfilled as Jesus (God in the flesh) is born into the broken world and lives among us, dies on the Cross and is resurrected from the dead. Death is defeated and we are saved! Exodus 15:3 is right… God is indeed a warrior who saves His people. And God has done all this why? Not because of our goodness or our worthiness, but simply for His good pleasure. I am just delighted that each of us can claim that title… a rescued child of God.

Giving the Way Jesus Intended

What was the best Christmas gift you have ever gotten? Was it something that was unexpected? Was it something someone made by hand? Those tend to be the best gifts when someone thinks about something you really need or want or simply take the time to make something unique. Now, what was the worst gift you have gotten?

You might need to think hard about it, because we tend to forget the worst and remember only the good ones. But I am sure you got some terrible gift along the way. Maybe it didn’t fit and you couldn’t return it or it was simply the ugliest thing you have ever seen!

Indeed, the Christmas season is about spending time with family and friends. But sometimes a funny thing happens when we get together with those folks. We somehow desire to return to the days when things were better and maybe happier. The “return to home” is at the heart of Christmas. Home that is a place where we all get along and love one another. Unfortunately, many families and friends get together and inflict pain on one another. The pain may come from words that wound or being together just brings up bad memories of days gone by that were hurtful The holidays become a time of simply surviving.

Isn’t it comforting to know that God doesn’t want you to live that way. God wants us to enjoy our family and friends. If you suffer from having to deal with painful memories or “psycho” relatives, God wants you to be able to not simply endure, but overcome.

I want to suggest three ways the Bible suggest to help us. The first is to pray for those who have wounded us to be forgiven. Jesus forgave even those who hung Him on a cross, thus we are to forgive others as well. The second is to pray for them to be healed. Jesus healed people even when they didn’t believe in Him. The final is to pray for them to be blessed. This last one is the hardest of all.

There is a true story of a man whose sister was sexually abused by a male adult family member. Many years passed and the man grew from boyhood to manhood. He had not acted upon the abuse and was still upset with the uncle. When the uncle came down with a terminal disease, the man was glad. He found his heart was still full of anger and rage even though his sister had been healed through counseling and her faith in Christ. He too needed to make things right. He sat down and wrote a letter to the uncle and took it to him. The uncle was now blind and could not read and the nurse read it to him. After reading the letter, the nurse knelt down by the bed and prayed to accept Jesus in her heart. She wanted a God who could have made such hatred forgive. The uncle too cried and prayed for Christ. Today, the man says he is healed too and his prayer for his uncle to be blessed came to fruition. Not only that, but the nurse came to Christ through his act of forgiveness.

This Christmas give a real gift of forgiveness. It will be both healing and a blessing to you and maybe to those for whom you forgive. Until next time, blessings.

WHY PROVIDENCE???

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Why Tell Anyone About Jesus?

Years ago a man I know sat across from me and we were speaking about the future of the church, not a particular church, but the church in general. We spoke of the years he had spent in the church as a child and how over his lifetime he had seen the church decline in attendance and he couldn’t understand why. He told me that he thought that the generations had gotten lax and had failed to comprehend the value of the church and would suffer in the end. When I asked him about evangelism and what the church could do to reverse attendance, he made a startling, yet not uncommon, statement. He said, “Well, you know, I have never needed to tell anyone about God… I live my life in a Christian manner, I treat people well, and I’m basically a good person. I don’t have to actually tell people about God.”
Really? What happened? It is clear that something had happened in this man’s life to make him think that sharing his faith in the lordship of Jesus Christ was not only unimportant, it was not needed at all. Somewhere along the line he had gotten the message wrong. He had gotten the message that the church was some king of social agency. It simply existed to help the poor and needy. While that is certainly a noble cause, the church doesn’t exist for that purpose. Social outreach is a by-product of Christians who care. The church exists for two reasons, to worship God and to tell people about Jesus.
So here is the big issue. Why did the church fail to communicate the importance of telling others about the joy and incredible life one finds when living in a relationship with Jesus Christ? My opinion… the church failed to impress upon its members the dire nature of life without God. That’s right, the church failed to acknowledge a place called “Hell.” Here’s the kicker. If you believe there is a God and God exists, then you really might want to believe that being without God is Hell. In a recent poll, over 60% of people polled did not believe in a place called Hell. And there are many who believe in a place of fire and torture and others who believe it is a metaphysical place of absence with God, either way, neither is a pleasant state of being. The Bible is clear about it, there is a hell and it isn’t a party. It is a place to destroy Satan, demons, and unbelievers.
Do people just not take the possibility of Hell seriously? That is possible. I don’t want to come off as judgmental. I certainly don’t know who will or will not go to heaven, but I do know that I want as many people to go to heaven as possible. I want people to know that God is wonderful and life with God will be wonderful. Life without God is empty, unfulfilling, and ultimately worthless.
Finally, I want to go back to my friend in the first paragraph. Sadly, he had the criteria wrong for who is a Christian. He had been misled to believe that “good” people go to heaven and “bad” people go to hell. Thus, in his mind, I believe, he thought that those who don’t go to church (know God) would get what was coming to them and it was just. Isn’t it ironic… that is not what the Bible says at all. Those who are good have no ticket to heaven. The ticket to heaven is given as a gift. Good people don’t go to heaven, forgiven people go to heaven. All it takes is to realize that we are all broken and in need of God’s gift of healing and, yes, salvation. Please… share that information with someone you care about!

A Lesson Learned From Finger Painting

This past summer I attended a wonderful seminar on the subject of the church and family called “Think Orange.” The idea is simple. We all learned as children that primary colors mixed together make new ones (although most of time my efforts resulted in the color ugly!). The church is represented by the color yellow. The family is red. When we join them, we get Orange! Orange is when these two powerful forces work together to be more potent.
If you are a parent or grand-parent what do you believe are the most important things in a child or teens life? Toys? Bikes? Cell phones? Cars? While some kids and teens believe those things are most important, many parents want kids to have something more eternal… an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ.
That is what Think Orange is all about. Helping our children grow into mature Christians who not only love Jesus but love His church and the broken people in a broken world. While the type of education someone gets is important, it pales in comparison to the education we all should have about God.
A separation between the Church and Family has become apparent because many families don’t believe that the Church really has anything relevant to say about rearing kids. The Church has often looked at parents and said, “be like God as much as possible… or, you are the closest thing to God your kids will see,,, or only, see you next week.” There is also no such thing as a perfect family… only families struggling with this, that, and the other. Thus, there is no “normal family.” Sadly, many parents have just checked out because they know that life at home is far from the “Father Knows Best” or “Cosby Show” families portrayed on TV. It is more like the Brady Bunch on a really, really bad day. Life is complex because it now involves not only kids, but also step-kids, second or third marriages, etc… Most families aren’t made up of a first marriage and two biological kids. Even our culture tells us church has nothing significant for families at church. Baseball, soccer, and other family oriented events are now scheduled on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights, both previously thought of as church times.
So what are we to do? Think Orange! Moses said in Deuteronomy 5 that we are to “ be very careful to act exactly as God commands you. Don't veer off to the right or the left. Walk straight down the road God commands so that you'll have a good life and live a long time...”The church is called to help parents by asking parents to spend quality time with kids, asking other Christians to spend time with kids, and seeing the whole process as an opportunity to trust God. For whatever reason, God seems to work through families, from Adam and Eve to Jesus to you. Have you ever wondered why so often the Bible gives genealogies or boring facts of who’s related to whom? It is because families are important. It may not even seem like it, but your family is part of a larger story. What role in God’s story will you or your children or your children’s children play? Who will they impact in their lives? What difference will they make for God? Who will grow up to be the next Billy Graham or Beth Moore or the hero who saves someone’s life or a great prayer warrior? Can you imagine if parents and churches partnered to help families be real and honest about the struggles of life and work to live as broken people in a hurting and broken world? I sure hope you can.

GRAND OPENING!

Getting Ready

Music

M

JUST HAD A GREAT TIME!

SEE YOU NEXT SUNDAY!

Something Different

A couple of years ago someone asked me, “When did you change churches?” She went on to say that she reads this column and she thought that I had changed churches because the name of the church at the end of the article changed. I responded, “No ma’am, I didn’t change churches, the name of the church changed!” Five years ago this summer I moved to the area to pastor the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant. Two years later, the church decided to relocate and at the same time change the name. But, something else was going on besides just a name change, God was making changes too.
Over the course of a few years, God was setting a fire in the hearts of the members of the church I serve. The people began to realize that their church had become stagnant and the days of reaching people for Christ had peaked back in the 1980’s. The landscape had changed and it was time to relocate and start over. With that came the name, Providence Presbyterian Church, now simply Providence. Indeed “providence” is what was happening. According to Webster’s the word means, “to understand that God is the power that is sustaining and guiding human destiny” We see in scripture that God provides… in the desert of Exodus, Psalms, Job, Galatians and others books. Today I want to mention John 21where Jesus provides for Peter and then tells him to “feed the sheep” and Matthew 28 where Jesus tells all the disciples “go and make disciples.” Both are commands not requests. Jesus wants disciples to tell others about Him and that’s an order! Unfortunately, it has too often become the case that churches forget to focus upon reaching out and become divine social/country clubs for members. This isn’t new to our day as it happened in the ancient churches as well. But, there comes a time when churches must decide what is most important… follow Jesus’ command or not. It is that simple!
I have heard it said that insanity can be defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Providence Church decided that it was not only the name that needed changing it was the heart of the people, worship style, music, and attitude. The church has embarked on a mission “to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.” And to that end, nothing else matters!
With our goal in mind, we studied many churches that were reaching people across our nation. We decided that the best way to proceed was to create an environment where people could come to a building that felt casual, comfortable, and practical. Casual, as in, people can wear shorts, tee shirts, jeans, skirts, slacks, just as long as they have clothes on! Comfortable, as in, a place that feels laid back and relaxed. We provide practical and solid theological messages which apply to daily life. All that and with modern, upbeat music that sounds like something I might hear on the radio.
Needless to say there was opposition. Some folks didn’t want to see change. That has been a struggle even though we still have a traditional service at our Jimmy Johnson campus. Change is hard. But, Billy Graham was right many years ago when he said, “the message never changes, but the methods must.”
If churches want to be fishers of men and women, churches will change… or die.
So, yes, I guess the answer I gave to the woman’s question about changing churches was wrong. I have changed churches. I am now part of a church that sees Jesus’ commands as a way of life. We wanted to provide a church for people who don’t really like church. Thus, it is something different. Providence Church opens its new building at 5315 North Twin City Hwy this Sunday at 10 a.m. So if you don’t regularly attend a church, come give it a try.