Stop Complaining!

Just because you are tired of something doesn't mean it has to stop. Look at Six Flags...some people haven't been in years because they thought it had run its course. Lines to rides still happen and they are still making money.

We do what we want in our lives. It is our right given to us by our Father in heaven. It is sad when people say, "We are doing this too much."

If it isn't broke, don't try to fix it.

However, doing the same thing the same way over and over again expecting different results is the definition of insanity.

If it works, do it!

If it is broke, fix it!

If it is not of God it will go away.

If it is of God you won't be able to stop it or change it.

Please follow the lead of those who are put in place to lead. It may not be your "thing" in your walk in life but time and thought has gone into what those who are leading believe is a good work.

If it fails, then do something else.

If it succeeds, give God the glory.

If it is different, don't bash it just because you can.

If you can help make it work, don't drag it down.

Don't complain about something you don't want to do, just don't do it. Don't feel guilty when you are encouraged to do what ever it is that is being promoted. If it doesn't work for you, then do what does work.

Do something besides complain about what is being done.

If you don't like what is going on, then find something that you like and that works and share it with those in the lead. That is the way of good business, and good church family relationships.

I love you all!

Culture Changes?

I remember being in Dominica back in the 80's. We had a mission trip to Roseau and Scott's Head. It was wonderful. The thing that was most different to me was that time had little baring on the people there. If something was supposed to happen at 7:00 p.m. it might be 8:30 before everyone gathered so that we could begin.

The first two nights were difficult for me. I was a clock and by the minute guy. If something is supposed to start at that time, be there. My American culture showed loudly. I was filled with nervous anticipation and wanted to be able to get to it!  Now! At the "appointed time"!

I learned that patience is the best when working cross culturally. It taught me a great lesson that I am not the authority as to how things ought to be done. I learned to gently work with the way of life where you are. Punctuality is not demanded unless it is demanded by the culture.

We need to be careful not to push our agenda on those who are not culturally aligned with our culture. They will learn but not necessarily on our time table.

I pray that we will stop pushing people to fit our mold. God wants all men to become His family. He doesn't care what culture they come from or how "on time" they are. We need to be concerned about the spiritual welfare and not the cultural attitudes of those we come in contact with. Teach the word and people who accept the truth will mold their lives to God's way, not our way!

I love you all!

My Special Friends

I love you. You are special. You are my friend and many times I felt as close to you as anyone else. When my times were tough and my heart broke you let me know you cared. You gave me a hug, a smile, a squeeze of the hand to let me know you really cared.

Other times you were the one in need of me and I hope that I have been there for you when you needed me. If not, I'm sorry.

If I overstepped the boundaries of friendship and may have taken you for granted or you may have felt that I manipulated you for my gain, I'm sorry.

You are not my mother or my father, you are not my wife or child.  What you are is my friend. And for that I am thankful. I need my friends and especially my spiritual family.

You are loved and appreciated. Thanks for being there for me.

Worshiping with God's Family

As each and every Sunday comes around I look forward to being with my spiritual family. As a minister I have given my life to my ministry which is to serve my God and His Son with guidance from the Holy Spirit. I cannot imagine wanting to be anywhere else on the Lord's Day.

If I don't worship with my spiritual family I feel empty. It means that much to me. To be where God's family is meeting. For those who know me best know that I want to be with God's people.

When I visit other churches, they are of a like mind, but it isn't the same. I do not feel it wise to worship with those who do not hold to the form of teaching that I believe God has exemplified in His word.

There is a reason and I believe it a valid reason. I know that on Sunday morning during worship and praise I want to worship and praise God in the way that He desires, not from what I desire or for any other reason than to take the opportunity with those of my spiritual family to thank our Father for all the things He has done for me. I can't do that when distracted because of spiritual error that is so often practiced by those who want something different than what the Bible teaches.

If you are a member of God's family you should worship with God's family. If not, you are opening yourself up to accepting things that are not of God.

The Hebrew writer speaks of this in Hebrews 10.

23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (NIV)

I'll see you later.

Complaining!

When we complain about things in our church family, is it because things aren't the way they should be, or is it because we don't want to have to do things that inconvenience us? Being inconvenienced is a part of our lives in our world and we complain, but the things of the church have been thought out and planned for the good of the church and those who are thinking of becoming a part of our spiritual family. It isn't about the individual, but the whole. Are you a part of the whole or an individual who puts their desires first.

From all I can find, when we seek our desires over the needs of our church family we make our family dysfunctional. I don't think God wants any church family to be dysfunctional.

I'll see you later!

Amazed

As a minister I have had ample opportunities to be amazed at some of the thing that have happened to friends and family in the churches where I have ministered.

Amazement doesn't even get close to depicting the feeling that I have when I look around at how hard the liberal anti Christ movement is moving against Christianity. So I have decided to publish these ideas and or questions that I have concerning those who want to destroy Christianity and those who claim Christ as their God and Savior.

1. My faith may not be as deep as those who are claiming God doesn't exist. (After all, neither of us can produce physical proof that what we are claiming is right or wrong. Therefore, I chose to believe in God and they do not. They have faith in what they believe the same as I do. In fact their faith may be stronger than mine or many of my Christian family.)

2. The sharing of my faith is not dependent on someone else's faith. (Everyone has the right, God given by the way, to believe what they want without having to align with anyone else.)

3. If you believe that you have to defend yourself and your belief with argumentative attitudes then I do not believe you are comfortable in what you believe. (I don't have to get angry when someone disagrees with me or can not handle the fact that I am not going to get into a argumentative debate with you over it.)

4. Time will tell! (I think that when we die then we will know the truth of the matter. To bad we can't come back and tell anyone else about it. Wait, Jesus did that I believe. But you know what I mean.)

5. Coexisting doesn't mean I must accept your beliefs. (All of us as adults can sit down and discuss our views. Whether or not we do that is up to us. However, just because I am not arguing with you doesn't mean I agree with you or accept what you do in your life that goes against my beliefs.)

6. Not all "Christians" share the same ideas concerning the Bible. (Just like there are those who interpret the constitution and laws that rule the world differently there will always be those who agree toward God's word who differ, and majorly sometimes, in the interpretation of that word.)

Thanks for reading.
I'll see you later!

When What Happens Makes Them Walk Away!

When what ever it is happens there is usually nothing you can do about it.  It happens!  There are many in life who begin blaming themselves for the actions of others.  Especially parents whose children walk away from the upbringing and discipline that they were raised with.

When God spoke through the Proverbs in 22:6 He shared with us a great principal. Raise a child correctly and they will remember it all their lives.

It doesn't mean that they will follow what they have been taught or raised to believe but that they will never forget the teaching and direction their parents were pointing them in.  Every time that they do something contrary to what they were taught it will hit them in their heart, conscience as it were.  They will feel the tug to hold on to what they have always been taught, but the temptation that they face may be a stronger lure to them than desire to follow the paths they were brought to follow.

If you are suffering on a daily basis to rationalize why your child doesn't follow the path you wanted them to follow, remember this.  God is watching us slip and fall as we walk through our lives and He still loves us and I believe He still has faith in us to change and come back to what He wants for us in our lives.

That does not mean we should not continue to encourage them to get back on the path.  We should stand true with God.  But, when children begin making their own decisions there is nothing we can do but pray!  What a great design.  We can talk to God about it!  Do that!  He is waiting to hear us say, "We can't do this by ourselves."

I'll see you later!

God Give Us More Men Like Him!

Wilson Jay Tyree, a professor at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, was talking about one of his Bible students. "One of my former students has recently studied his way into a crisis of the spirit.  Never satisfied with hand-me-down faith this young man searches the scriptures and acts upon the truths he discovers."  His reaction was one that I agree with, "God give us more men like him."

I was thinking about this statement and wondered why have we become a people who do not search the scriptures any more?

When I became a Christian in the early '70s I was constantly impressed with the Bible knowledge that most of the members had.  Not all of them were as well versed as some, but it was something that everyone seemed to be striving for.

Then came the ideas of "a little knowledge is dangerous."  Therefore, I tried to study in depth.  I moved to Fort Worth in '77 and became aware that this was not the focus from what I saw in my new spiritual family away from my original Christian Family where I grew up.

Studying was not the focus but the debate over what was of faith and what was of command.  I learned to look at both sides of a discussion, not easily mind you, without passing judgment on someone else's thoughts on that scripture that I had "nailed down" so many years ago.

I hope and pray that we will become, once again, people of the word.  We need to know the word of God and that only comes through personal study.  Yes, you can look into what other's think about things, but don't accept what you read or hear without contemplating how it affects you.  Study the word of God and stop being satisfied with hand-me-down faith and search the scriptures and act upon the truths that you discover in your personal study.

God give us more men like that!

I'll see you later!

How We View The Bible (Taken from an article by Dan Scott of Nashville)

Dan Scott wrote this article and it confirmed my thoughts about Bible Study.  I hope you will read this and think about the implications concerning our society in our spiritual areas of life.  God bless us as we strive to move forward and closer to our Father and His word.

"The most important change within the Christian church in our times – and perhaps since the apostolic age -- has been how we view scripture.

Over a hundred years ago, certain methods of interpreting scripture began shaking Protestant’s confidence in the Bible. As a result, the Bible has slowly become only one important influence among many for forming a believer’s views and governing his or her behavior. It makes a great difference, you see, whether one views the Bible as the Word of God or is simply a human work about God.

Most of our great Protestant denominations – especially in Europe and The United States -- now define the Bible as a record of how the ancient Hebrews thought about God, ethics and justice. In this view, one may certainly use these ancient Hebrew stories to shine light on our contemporary issues. However, viewing the Bible as a revelation of God’s law, applicable to all times and all cultures, seems hopelessly antiquated. It even seems like a dangerous misuse of Holy Scripture.

Christians who think of themselves as “conservative” or “orthodox” naturally reject the liberal Protestant view of scripture. Nonetheless, Bible studies are not at the top priority for most self-professed conservative believers either. In fact, many conservative churches have replaced their historical Bible-centeredness with mere cultural conservatism. That approach has removed any sense of moral authority from Evangelical preaching. To the culture around us, our opinions now seem to rest merely upon our conservative tastes and cultural habits; not upon the foundation of eternal Truth. Unbelievers are asking us, “What makes your personal tastes and cultural values more important than ours?”

This question is getting harder for us to answer.

Our loss of the Bible – by liberals because of their deliberate intellectual shift away from orthodoxy, and by conservatives because of intellectual sloth and a worship of numerical and material success – have gradually gutted the American church of its ability to shepherd its flock.  This has resulted in making our views about homosexuality look like a pathological overreaction to people whose personal choices just happen to differ from ours. 

Our view of the Bible is therefore crucial.  Without it we do not have a solid basis for addressing homosexuality or any other contemporary issue."

-Dan Scott, “What About Homosexuality?”, Christ Church Nashville.

The Mistakes I Have Made!

My time on earth is in its autumn years!  There, I said it.  Hard to believe and even harder to admit.  I have another 20 years or so on this earth if I make the average. That being said, I have looked back over the last 55 years and realize I have a lot more mistakes in my life than I care to remember, but remember them I do.  It is easier to remember the mistakes than it is the things I am really proud of.  

That sounds a little harsh to some, and to others easy to imagine.  I am thankful for my life and the mistakes have tried to teach me things I wouldn't learn in ways that would have been less damaging, but I am not depressed or disparaged because of them.  They are what has made me who I am, faults and all.  Yes, I know, admit and am sorry for the past mistakes I have made.  To those who might have been hurt or affected by some of my past mistakes going back 50 years or so, I am sorry.  It isn't a day goes by that I am not reminded of some of the mistakes I have made (and I know God has forgiven me, but Satan continues to throw them up in my face).  

However, as I look through the eyes of death, I realize that time swiftly passes and God forgives, and I have allowed myself to be a child of our heavenly Father.  I have nothing to hang my head in shame about as His child, but men don't forget or forgive as easily.

So with that said let me share with you what got me on this thought.  I believe that I am a very forgiving person.  I have never held anything against anyone for any amount of time.  I am a forgiving person.  I know the need for forgiveness because of my past and when Satan reminds me of my past mistakes I am reminded of something someone said to me years ago.  When Satan reminds me of my past, I try to have the faith to remind him of my future.  That future is with my God.  I am His child and I am no better than any other child of my Father's.  I may have more mistakes and need more times of forgiveness in my eyes, but I am of the firm belief through faith that God will and has forgiven me for everything in my past.  I have a God who allows me to start over every time I need to.  

In saying this, I am not striving to make more mistakes to receive more grace and forgiveness, but as I feel the shame through remembering past mistakes I get to celebrate the fact that my God is bigger than my past and doesn't even remember my past as far as holding it against me.  

I am truly blessed beyond measure.  I am living a life better than I deserve.  I love my family and my spiritual family on this earth.  

May God bless you with that same understanding.  It is available to all men.  If you want to talk about this, just message me or give me a call.  I'm here as a result of someone caring enough to share their story of forgiveness with me and my family.  I am 20 or so years away from going home.  Maybe sooner!  I can't wait till that day comes, not because I am in a hurry, but I know that heaven is going to be so much better than here.

I'll see you there!